This Is War
by Jedi Jelsa777
Summary: The Alvarez Empire and Fiore have long been at war. A war that started with that of a lost prince. Will the two kingdoms be able to find peace? Or will they wipe each other out? AU world.
1. Chapter 1

A whimpering noise came to Lucy from the dark street. The seven year old girl had snuck out of her home, longing for a bit of freedom from the protective eyes of her parents. She glanced around from her hiding space, worried both for whoever made the noise, for they sounded quite sad, but also for the risk it brought to herself being discovered. The guards of the kingdom would be looking for stragglers like her and whoever made the noise, there was a strict curfew being enforced due to the war they were currently fighting.

The war between Fiore and the Alvarez Empire had been going on for as long as Lucy could remember, though the curfew was only a recent addition to their lives, for the Alvarez forces had drawn ever closer to them in the past few months and now rested an uncomfortable ten miles away. Lucy knew all this, but still she just couldn't stand being under the worried gaze of her parents at all hours. This wasn't her first time sneaking out and it probably wouldn't be her last. It was her first since the curfew was instated, however, so it was a little more unnerving.

Perhaps whoever made the sound thought so too, or maybe they had no home and were worried the soldiers would think they were a spy or something. Lucy looked around, making sure that there were no soldiers nearby, or at least in her line of sight. Once she was pretty sure the coast was clear, she hissed "Psst, is anyone there?" She heard a startled gasp, before a young, male voice softly said "No." Lucy had to swallow a laugh before quietly replying, "For there not being anyone, it's funny I got an answer."

She heard a muttered "Crap." followed by rustling and a pink head popping out from under a pile of trash and leaves across the alley from her own hiding position. Lucy peaked around the boxes and motioned him to join her as she whispered "It's safer to hide behind these boxes, sometimes people like to kick the trash piles." The boy hesitated for a moment, but at the sound of approaching voices, hurried over to join her. No sooner was he safely hidden behind the boxes with her, a pair of soldiers walked by, complaining of having to patrol when general fear for their safety kept people inside. One of them kicked the very pile of trash the boy had been in, as if to prove Lucy's point.

After a few long moments of hearing nothing, Lucy sighed in relief and softly said "That was close. I'm Lucy by the way." The young boy, who looked a little less nervous now that he had found someone, gave her a bright smile and said "I'm Natsu." "Nice to meet you, what are you doing out here at night?" Lucy asked, curious if it was for the same reason she was. Natsu looked embarrassed as he answered "I took a nap in the park and when I woke up it was dark out and there were soldiers everywhere. I wasn't sure whose side they were on at first, so I hid in this alley."

"You didn't know? You're not from here are you?" Lucy asked. Natsu shook his head, answering "My dad and I are just passing through. We're staying at the Crocus Inn, do you know where that is? Everything looks so different in the dark." Lucy nodded and said "Yes I do, it's not too far from my home, would you like me to take you there? We'll have to sneak you into the building, no one is supposed to be out right now, so we don't want to get caught. Do you remember what room you were in?"

"It was one facing the castle, I remember looking out the window at it when we dropped our stuff off." Natsu replied. "Well that narrows it down, when they built the inn the number of rooms allowed to face the castle were limited, as there was a lot of political unrest at the time… I'm sorry, I started just spurting of random facts." Lucy said, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment, she had endured a lot teasing for doing that before. Natsu on the other hand looked in awe as he said "No need to apologize, that's pretty cool to know, I wouldn't be able to remember that. Well maybe that but not much more."

Lucy allowed herself a nearly silent giggle at this comment from Natsu. She knew he was just trying to cheer her up, but she was grateful too. "If you aren't going to leave too early tomorrow, I can give you a whole tour of random facts." Lucy offered. "I don't think we are, but I can ask my dad when I get back to our room to be sure." "Awesome. Now, follow me and stay as quiet as possible, we will be going through some of the more heavily patrolled areas." Natsu nodded his understanding before Lucy started leading the way.

They had several close calls, just barely getting into a hiding place a couple of times and once Natsu had to catch a vase that some cat knocked from a window above them to keep it from hitting the ground and giving away their location. Finally they reached the Crocus Inn and Lucy led Natsu to the side with the rooms he mentioned. Thankfully there were only three rooms that it could be and Natsu picked the right one the first time.

Inside it, his father was pacing back and forth, turning towards the window in surprise only when he heard the glass creak as the window was pushed upwards. Seeing his son climbing through it, he rushed over and pulled him into a bear hug. After a moment, he released his son enough to look him in his face and ask "Where were you? I was worried sick and the desk clerk wouldn't let me leave to look for you, something about a curfew."

"I'm sorry dad, I didn't mean to make you worry. I fell asleep in the park and when I woke up it was dark, but Lucy helped me get home." Natsu said, finishing with a grin. "Lucy, who's Lucy?" his father asked. Natsu went to the window and motioned for someone to join them. Shortly a young, blond haired girl did so. "Lucy this is my dad, Igneel Dragneel. Dad this is Lucy… hey I never got your last name!" "Heartfilia. My name is Lucy Heartfilia." Lucy said with a smile, "Pleased to meet you Mr. Dragneel."

Igneel grinned at her and said "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Lucy. Thank you for bringing Natsu home safely to me." "Not a problem. I've got to be getting home now myself." Lucy said, not wanting to say that she was worried if she stayed out too much longer her parents would catch her returning to her room. Igneel didn't question the reason the girl was out, she had an adventurous look to her and he suspected that she had been taking a late night stroll with no one who knew her the wiser. "Wait, before you go!" Natsu exclaimed, "Dad, Lucy offered to show me around Crocus tomorrow, will I have time?"

"You should, I expect my meeting with King Toma to take a while." Igneel said with a smile. Lucy grinned and said "Great, I'll meet you here an hour after sunrise then Natsu." Natsu groaned and Igneel chuckled and said "If you want Natsu to be awake for the tour, you might want to wait until two hours after sunrise." Lucy giggled as Natsu glared at his father, before saying "I understand. See you tomorrow Natsu!" Then, after checking to make sure there were no soldiers around, Lucy slipped out the window and made her way home.

XXX

After Lucy left, Igneel turned to his son with a stern expression on his face as he said "Natsu, you know we can't afford to get on the King's bad side. We skate on thin enough ice as it is." Natsu sighed and said "I know, I'm sorry. I was just so tired after our walk here and I was only going to close them for a minute…" Igneel chuckled at his son before ruffling his spikey hair and said "Get some sleep, Natsu, you've got a date tomorrow." Igneel laughed loudly as Natsu protested it wasn't a date.

XXX

Lucy showed up right on time to meet Natsu at the first time she had given, making Natsu a little bit glad he had gotten up on time. He would in some ways rather be sleeping, but at the same time, it was rare that he was around kids his age, so he learned to make the most of these interactions. He lived with Igneel in his cave far from here. Not many would know by looking at him, but Igneel was actually a dragon! He could take on a human form when necessary, but those were few and far between. Natsu was trying to learn the opposite, to be able to take a dragon form so he could soar beside his dad.

Natsu knew he was adopted, Igneel had never tried to hide that from him and he probably could have given any number of reasons as to why Natsu was a human and he wasn't that Natsu would have believed. But instead, Igneel told how he found Natsu as a baby, left nearby his cave, probably meant as some sort of sacrifice to appease Igneel, though he rarely ever bothered any humans. Whatever the case, Igneel had loved Natsu like his own ever since. While Natsu loved his adoptive father, there were some downsides to living in a cave in the middle of nowhere, and a lack of friends was one of them.

Natsu was brought out of his thoughts by Lucy saying "Come on, there is so much to see and I don't know how much time we have." Natsu grinned and was right behind her, finding that her knowledge wasn't too boring, she could tell him where some awesome fights happened, like the one where a guy lost not just a tooth but an eye as well! Lucy really didn't seem to like recounting it, but Natsu thought it was great!

XXX

Meanwhile, Igneel headed to the palace, the home of King Toma Fiore. He was soon escorted into the throne room, where he bowed slightly to the other king. "King Igneel, ruler of the dragons, I thank you for coming." King Toma started. "Really, your majesty, there is no need for long fancy titles. Igneel is fine." Igneel gently interrupted. King Toma nodded as he said "Then you must call me Toma. As you know we have been at war with the Alvarez Empire for many years now." Igneel nodded hesitantly as he said "Yes, but I hope you don't want me to join you. Much as I would like to see this war end, there are dragons in both Fiore and the Alvarez Empire, I can't put either group at risk."

"No nothing like that. I know you have a great sense of smell. Is there a way you could sniff out the heir?" Toma said. Igneel shook his head as he said "If that had been thought of right after the kidnapping, I might have been able to do it. But the scent would be so old and the heir's scent will more than likely have changed somewhat since then as well, whatever his diet is could cause something like that as well as who he is around the most. It really is too bad that this couldn't have been done at the time, but I know how tense things were between humans and dragons at the time, even more so then they are now."

Toma sighed as he said "I thought it was a long shot, so I can't say I'm surprised at your answer, just disappointed. Unless I can find out what happened to that heir, I don't think this war can end in anything but the total end of one of our two kingdoms. That is something I don't want to see. The Alvarez family has lost so much already and I don't want to think of anything happening to Hisui or my people!" "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, Toma. I will let you know if I hear anything, no matter how insignificant it seems." Igneel said gently. "Thank you." was Toma's simple, dejected response.

XXX

Lucy grinned and said "And this is part of the gardens that Fiore is famous for, though not quite as nice as the ones around the palace. I like this one better because of the statues in it, there are some pretty amazing ones." Natsu had to agree, especially when they came across a dragon one! "It looks like dad!" he exclaimed, causing Lucy's eyes to widen as she said "Huh?!" It was time for Natsu's own eyes to enlarge, realizing what he said in Lucy's presence. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he also nervously chuckled and said "Nothing."

Lucy gave him a look that said she wasn't buying it before he held up his hands and said "Alright, alright. I'm going to tell you a secret, but you have to promise not to tell." Lucy did so, adding "A Heartfilia always keeps their promise, that's what my mama always says." So Natsu told Lucy about how Igneel was not only his adoptive father, but a dragon as well. When he finished, Natsu stopped and waited for Lucy to make fun of him, it had happened in the past when he had mentioned it to one or two of the other rare playmates. Instead, Lucy grinned and said "That's awesome! I'm glad Igneel was there to take care of you."

Natsu was shocked for only a second before returning Lucy's grin, happy to find someone who liked his story instead of teasing him about it. Lucy leaned in close and whispered "Do you ride your dad or does he carry you?" Natsu whispered back "It depends on the weather, good days I ride him, bad days he carries me." Lucy's eyes lit up as she said "I would love to ride a dragon at night! It would be so amazing being that much closer to the stars!" Natsu liked the happy, dreamy look of his new friend, before she tugged on him and said "Come on, there is one last thing I want to show you."

She took him to the park he had fallen asleep at the night before, but on the opposite side from where he had fallen asleep, from what Natsu could tell. Here there was a whole playground. "Come on Natsu, let's go play with some of my friends." Lucy said happily. Lucy made some quick introductions before the whole group of them started to play. Lucy had told Igneel where she planned to end the tour and it felt like they had only started playing, though it really had been several hours, when he showed up to get Natsu.

During this time, Lucy had figured out just how lonely Natsu was and she ran over to Igneel, before his son saw him and talked to him briefly before running off into town. Natsu eventually noticed Igneel and ran up to him, slightly scuffed up from hard playing and a few fights he had with a guy named Gray. "It's almost time to go Natsu, we have to collect our stuff at the inn and get ready to head home." Natsu looked down slowly and said "Okay, just let me say goodbye to Lucy first. Hey where is Lucy?"

Igneel chuckled as Natsu started to look around frantically. "She said she had to go get something, but that she would be back soon. Don't worry, we'll wait so you can say goodbye." Natsu grinned, before running off to play with the others a bit longer before he had to say goodbye. Lucy soon returned with a box with holes in it. Natsu spotted her and said goodbye to the others before running up, saying "Lucy, dad says we have to get going but that we could wait for you to get back so I could say goodbye. What you got there?"

"I asked your dad if this was okay first, so here you go." Lucy said cryptically, handing him the box. Natsu looked at her in confusion, before carefully taking the box and opening it. Inside was a sleeping, tiny blue kitten with wings! "He's an Exceed. He needs someone to take care of him and while we would love to, our home isn't really built to withstand a flying cat. Your dad said it was okay if I gave him to you." Natsu turned to Igneel with happy tears in his eyes as he said "Really?!" Igneel nodded and said "Really."

Natsu turned to Lucy and said "Thank you Lucy! What's his name?" Lucy smiled as she replied "We haven't given him one yet. It's up to you." Natsu looked at the cute kitten and said "Well, today has been one of the happiest days of my life, so I'm going to call him Happy!" Lucy smile broadened as she said "Happy, huh, I like it." Igneel let them talk about the kitten and his name for a few more minutes before he sadly said "Much as I wish you two could keep going on about this, Natsu and I really have to get going."

Natsu and Lucy looked down at the ground as they both said "Okay." Lucy looked up, trying to put a smile back on her face, as she suggested "I could walk with you as far as the gate if you like." Natsu cheered up a bit at the thought of hanging out with his new best friend a few more minutes and eagerly agreed. The stopped at Crocus Inn to get Igneel and Natsu's things before heading on towards the gate. Their destination came too fast for the seven and eight year old. Igneel took Happy's box so that Natsu and Lucy could have a moment to say goodbye.

"Lucy, thanks for being my friend and for giving me Happy as a gift." Natsu said to her. Lucy smiled, trying to hold back tears and said "I promise, we'll see each other again someday Natsu. We're friends forever, right?" Natsu grinned and said "Yeah, friends forever!" Lucy threw herself at him to hug him goodbye, allowing her tears to silently spill, though Natsu could smell them so they weren't unnoticed. After she collected herself, Lucy pulled back and said "Come back soon you two."

Neither promised they would, for none of them knew what tomorrow would bring. The likely hood of either of the two kids seeing each other again were slim to none, Igneel knew this better than them. As they waved goodbye though, Natsu remembered what Lucy had said to him in the garden, "A Heartfilia always keeps their promise." Natsu hopped that Lucy would be able to keep the promise to see him again someday.


	2. Chapter 2

**Magnolia, 4 Years Later**

Not long after Igneel and Natsu had left Crocus, Jude Heartfilia had thought it wise to move further away from where the fighting was. Lucy was happy that all of her friend's parents had felt the same and that they had all moved to Magnolia together so she didn't have to worry about losing touch with them. The fighting was now at Crocus' gates, had been for the last year now. Right before that had happened, they had received word that the king and queen of the Alvarez Empire had died in a freak accident and there had been a brief period of hope that maybe now they could work out a peaceful end to this war.

A hope that was soon dashed as their son, Zeref Alvarez, blamed Fiore just as much, if not more for his brother's kidnapping as his parents had. He even went so far as to say that King Toma had been behind the death of his parents, but since the fire had burned so hot there were no bodies left to be found to say just how they died. Zeref had launched an even more aggressive campaign of attack the moment after his coronation and thus, Crocus finally saw war.

The only thing keeping Zeref from completely overwhelming the capital was the well-built wall and the great minds of Fiore's top strategists. Those still living in Fiore were too scared to try to leave now, even though Crocus wasn't completely surrounded and it was much more dangerous to stay in the city then to leave it. Suppliers still ran to and from the city, but Lucy had heard rumors that a dragon was the one doing most of the supplying. She often wondered if it was Igneel or another dragon. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she got back on task. Her mother had asked her to pick up some things at the store and had even given her a little extra money in case she saw a book she wanted.

Lucy did end up finding a book that she found interesting, it was about dragons. The shop owner tried to dissuade her, saying "You probably won't like it young miss. It's not a story but actual facts about dragons, written by one called Grandeeney." "Great, I'll definitely take it now." Lucy said with a smile, earning a befuddled look from the man as he rang up her purchase. Why a kid so young would want to read a true story about dragons, he didn't know.

Later that afternoon, Lucy poured over the book from her position at the top of the tower with the slide on it at the playground. She wasn't blocking the way to the slide or anything, she just liked the view from there, which she would sometimes blankly stare out at as she digested the information she was reading. Seeing the book had brought back the memories of her friend for a day, Natsu. Not that he was ever far from her thoughts. She hoped that Happy was keeping him company.

She smiled as she looked down at the book, thinking "Well at least if I run into him again I can tell him everything I learned about dragons!" The man had been somewhat wrong. The book was mainly facts about the dragons but there were some stories of their lore and such included, as well as some personal stories about Grandeeney, including ones about her human daughter, a baby girl called Wendy. Lucy looked up from her book once more as she softly questioned out loud, "I wonder what it's like being raised by a dragon?"

"Why would you want to know that Lucy?" came the voice of her best friend, Levy, as she sat down beside her. "Oh just because of this book that I'm reading about dragons that is written by a dragon. She is raising a human girl named Wendy and I couldn't help thinking how I would feel if I was in her shoes, at least once she gets a little older." Lucy replied. Of course, Lucy wasn't sure when this book was printed exactly, Wendy could be older then her for all she knew. Anyways, just as she had promised all those years ago, she had never said a word to anyone about Igneel really being a dragon, not even to her mom or Levy. That wasn't to say she hadn't almost slipped before, but she always caught herself before she did say anything.

Levy leaned over to look at the book, an interested expression on her face as she asked "When you're done, can I read it?" Lucy smiled at her friend and said "Of course, don't we always share our books?" Levy laughed, before answering "True, in fact I'm not always sure which ones are mine and which ones are yours." They both laughed, for they both had to admit that it was possible that their collections were pretty well merged at this point. The only time that really mattered was when it was bedtime and they had a particular book they wanted to read and couldn't find it because it was on the other's bookshelf.

Gray called up to them from the ground "Hey guys, it's going to be getting dark soon." "Gray we don't have to worry about a curfew here, remember?" Levy teased. Gray chuckled and said "I know, but I have to watch out for you, remember, I'm the oldest." "By a year!" Lucy said, finishing by sticking out her tongue. The three friends just laughed as Levy said "You just like to claim to be the oldest when Erza isn't around, after all she is older than you." "Only by two years!" Gray said, teasing Lucy by copying the tone she had used and setting them all to laughing again.

As she wiped tears from her eyes, Lucy said "I guess Gray is right though, it is getting dark. Mom said she was going to show me some constellations again tonight, do you guys want to join us?" Her two friends agreed to this and, after quick stops at both of their houses to ask their parents' permission, the three friends made their way to the Heartfilia house. Layla was outside waiting for them and smiled her welcome to the two who would be joining them.

"No Erza today?" Layla asked as she and the children walked to the park. "No, she entered into a cake eating contest and while she won the prize, her stomach has been saying she lost. She said she's swearing off cake, but we'll see about that." Lucy answered her mother, everyone chuckling as this was the fourth time Erza had done this, each time swearing off cake only to request some the moment she was feeling better. As Layla started pointing out the different constellations, Lucy couldn't help but wonder what Natsu was doing. Little did she know he was looking at the same exact star as she was at that very minute.

XXX

Something drew Natsu's attention to a star in the sky and he stared at it for a long time before Happy broke into his thoughts. "What are you doing Natsu?" Happy asked. "Just looking at the stars." Natsu replied. "Are you looking for Igneel?" Happy asked the twelve year old boy. Natsu frowned and lowered his gaze from the sky. Igneel had been missing for about a month now. He had taken a supply of food and such to Crocus and those left in it, just as he did every month, but unlike every other month, this time he didn't return.

Another thing that bothered him was he felt sure his father had told him something before he left, but what it was he couldn't remember. He knew it was important, yet any time he started to focus on it, it slipped through the cracks and just left him feeling frustrated.

Happy felt bad for reminding his friend of his missing father, watching as the pink haired boy clenched and unclenched his hands. Natsu felt like a failure, he hadn't been able to take a dragon form and while his father had told him right before leaving it would take years, if it was even possible for a human to do so, before he could, Natsu couldn't help but feel like if he had been able to go with his dad on this trip he could have prevented whatever kept Igneel from coming home.

Natsu, returned his gaze to the sky, determination seeping into his eyes as he said to Happy, "Tomorrow, we'll head out for Crocus and see if we can't find Igneel. Maybe Lucy is still living there and can help us."

The hope of finding his father and possibly seeing his friend, filled Natsu with a peace that allowed him to get a good night's sleep, the first he had had since Igneel went missing. Happy didn't wake him in the morning, rather he let his friend's body recover from the strain the lack of sleep had caused it. It was late afternoon before Natsu woke up, only hunger causing him to do so. Seeing the hour it was, Natsu agreed with Happy to spend one more night in the cave before heading out, eating before once again failing back into the comfort of sleep.

XXX

Several days later, Natsu dragged his weary feet into Crocus. Happy's gasp of surprise was the first thing that started really making him look around and he was stunned by how much had changed since his visit here four years earlier. Many places were boarded up and only a few had smoke coming from the chimneys. "Where is everyone?" Natsu questioned aloud. "Hey, what are you doing there!?" came a voice from behind Natsu and Happy. The two turned towards the soldier, but before Natsu could answer the man he said "You're not from around here, are you boy. Bet you're a spy for the Alvarez Empire. Come on, you aren't welcome in Crocus."

"But…" Natsu said, trying to say he was looking for his father, but the man cut him off by saying "Quiet. Out you go!" By this time they had reached the gate and a few other soldiers had joined him in herding out the boy and the Exceed. Natsu decided not to press it, he could feel the tension in the air and smell the fear coming off from the men. They weren't trying to be rude or mean, they were all just running scared.

"Come on Happy." Natsu said, "I don't think Igneel is here. His smell isn't strong in the air and he would have come to us by now if he was." Natsu dragged his feet as Happy sadly watched him, worried for his friend and feeling bad that they hadn't been able to find Igneel. Natsu tried getting close to the Alvarez Empire lines, to see if he could smell Igneel over there, maybe they had caught him. But the troops there thought he was a spy for Fiore so he was pushed back once again.

Dejected, another thought sprung into his head. When he was in Crocus, he had been close to places that he would have expected to smell Lucy's scent on. While his memory of her scent may not be as strong as it once was, he knew without a doubt that Lucy had not been in Crocus for some time. Had the Alvarez Empire taken her captive? Had her family fled Crocus? Where had she and the kids she had introduced him to gone? Would he ever see his friend again?

**So you are probably going wait, why the heck is Zeref's last name Alvarez? Well since Natsu has been going around with Igneel who I gave the last name of Dragneel in his human form, if Zeref's last name was Dragneel people would have been all hey this Igneel dude has a kid about the same age as your brother would be and he isn't related to you/is a dragon, maybe that is your missing brother. So I gave Zeref the same last name as his kingdom, much like the king of Fiore's last name is Fiore.**

**Answers to Reviews!**

**I Live FairyTail: Yay, I'm glad you liked it!**

**Ushindeshi: Thanks!**

**FireShifter: Yay, I'm glad you thought so :D**

**Trollka21: So glad you loved it!**

**CrazyZaika: I'm glad you like that :D Hope this was satisfactory :D**

**FTAnt: Adventure! Danger! Mystery! Suspense! …. Well maybe not all those things, who knows, we'll see ;) XD**


	3. Chapter 3

**Unknown Location, Four Years Later**

Natsu looked up at Grandeeney and smiled. He had wandered alone for nearly six months, looking for Igneel with no luck before he had ran into a hoard of dragons, the leader of which was Grandeeney. There weren't many dragons in it, Grandeeney herself was the lone female, but those who were in it were special. All of them, like Igneel, had taken in a lost human child. Grandeeney had a daughter named Wendy, Metalicana a son named Gajeel, while Weisslogia and Skiadrum had sons named Sting and Rogue.

Ironically, all of them had Exceeds that they cared for, Happy was thrilled to hang out with Panther Lily, Frosch and Lector and he may have a small crush on Carla, though he wouldn't admit it to Natsu. The sixteen year old's mind was pulled back into the present as Grandeeney stated, "Whenever I see that smile on your face, I know you are up to something." "Pfft, me? What would I be up to?" Natsu asked defensively, smile still intact. Grandeeney sighed and didn't bother to give him much of a response other than "Be careful of Wendy and the others, whatever it is."

Natsu glanced at his pseudo younger sister, then looked back at Grandeeney and nodded. He then hollered for the others to join him. Gajeel, who was two years older than him and Sting and Rogue, who were both a year older then Natsu, grudgingly followed while Wendy happily skipped behind them. Since Natsu was technically the son of Igneel, adopted though he may be, that made him a prince among the dragons and they insisted that the boys and Wendy treat him like their leader. Not that it was a bad thing, Natsu was fun, but he could get them into trouble. Only Grandeeney was considered above Natsu, mainly because of his youth, but also because she had taken over the care of him in Igneel's stead.

Once they were far enough from the dragons that Natsu knew they would not be overheard, he turned to the others and said "So do you want to know what I think we should do today?" "Let me guess, try to reach our dragon forms?" Gajeel answered sarcastically. Natsu grinned deeply and said "Yep!" Everyone sighed and there was a moment of silence before Wendy timidly started speaking what they were all thinking. "Um, Natsu. What if we can't reach it? Just because our parents can take a human form doesn't mean we can take a dragon one."

Natsu's grin switched to a determined look as he replied "We will, we've got to." "Why?" asked Rogue, "I mean, don't get me wrong, being able to fly and all sounds really cool, but why are you so bound and determined to do this?" Natsu didn't reply, he just gripped his hands into fists and looked down at the ground. Sting was the one who pushed him to answer by saying "Look, you may be the prince of the dragons, but we don't have to follow you on some fairy tale quest for fun."

"It's not for fun! I need it!" Natsu yelled angrily at Sting. "Why? Why do you need it Natsu?" asked Gajeel. "Because, because… because it's the only way I will ever find Igneel!" Natsu shouted, before letting loose some tears, trying to turn and hide them from the others, but all of them caught them as well as their scent. All of them briefly imagined what they would do if they were in Natsu's shoes, if their own parents had gone missing. Wendy was the first person to reach out and put a comforting hand on Natsu. The ten year old said "Don't worry Natsu, you can do it."

"If one of us can figure it out, we can teach it to the others." Rogue added. The other two males just nodded, even though Natsu's back was still to them. Natsu didn't turn around, didn't want them to see just how broken he was inside over Igneel's disappearance, but he steadied his voice enough to say "Thanks guys." Finally able to get his emotions under control again, he turned around with a grin and said "So, let's get to it." The rest of the day was spent with the children of the dragon's trying to reach their dragon form. Their Exceed friends came and went, having been fishing when the group left that morning and finding the whole process too boring to watch once they arrived.

It was a defeated feeling group that arrived back where their parents were waiting for them, none having made any breakthrough in their dragon form, if such a thing even existed. They didn't know it, but their parents had watched them from afar and they silently hurt to see their children so dejected over something that just might very well be impossible for them.

As Natsu settled in for the night, staring up at the stars from beneath the safety of Grandeeney's wing, he thought about his father, about Lucy. Why someone he had only known for a day was so important to him, he never really understood. Perhaps it was the way she had accepted Igneel for who he was, or maybe it was the amazing gift she had given him with Happy. Natsu gently shook his head, no, while those things were awesome about her, it was just her accepting him and giving him her friendship that had sealed her away in his heart.

Sure, he had Gajeel, Sting, Rogue and Wendy, but it wasn't quite the same. Except for Wendy, if it weren't for them being fellow dragon kids he wasn't sure they would have been friends. Sometimes he felt like the only reason the guys put up with him was because he was Igneel's son so they had to. But he would admit that it led to some fun sparring times. Wendy didn't really take part, being younger than them all and Grandeeney's protective nature towards her, but the boys roughhoused often, just like dragon babies would do.

Nothing was off limits, from nails to teeth to fists. He could tell that, so long as their parents weren't watching, the guys would go all out, sometimes even teaming against him, especially Rogue and Sting, they worked well together. Natsu didn't care, he liked honing his fighting abilities, who knows it might come in handy in his search for Igneel. He wished he could remember what his father had told him, it was something that continued to bother him. Plus the ongoing war… it made him worry for Lucy.

After his initial attack that brought his forces to the gates of Crocus, Zeref had been unable to press the army of Fiore back any further. The king of Fiore had even been able to push Zeref's men back to the borders, but still, this war had been going on for nearly 16 years and with no end in sight and tempers flaring, it could get deadly for all those involved, whether they be townspeople, soldier or king. "Stay safe, dad, Lucy." Natsu whispered to the night sky before falling into a restless sleep.

XXX

**Several Months Earlier**

Fifteen year old Lucy looked down at the gift her mother had given her in awe and wonder. "These keys were my mother's and her mother's before her and so on. Now I pass them on to you, my dear Lucy." Layla said as she smiled at the expression on her daughter's face, "It's time you learned to use the magic you have always possessed and continue the family tradition." Lucy looked up from the three golden keys in her hands. She had been collecting silver keys, with her mother's permission, for a time when she was ready to learn and she was thrilled that the time had finally come.

"I will teach you everything you need to know and you can start joining your friends at Fairy Tail and see if it's where you want to start working as a wizard." Layla continued, interrupted from her next words by the arms of her daughter being thrown around her. "Thanks mom." Lucy said happily. Layla smiled down at her daughter before saying "Come, there is no time like the present for starting anything." Lucy's grin widened as she followed her mother outside.

**Present Time**

Lucy looked around Fairy Tail, smiling at all her friends. She had been coming here for a few months now and she really liked the people of Fairy Tail, both those she had known before and those she was coming to know. The master was like the grandfather she never had, or at least that she ever knew since both sets of grandparents were dead long before her birth. Everyone was so warm and friendly. Yet… sometimes she felt like something or someone was missing. Like there was room for Fairy Tail to be livelier.

Gray had been gone for a little over a year learning from Master Ur and had also developed a weird stripping habit that he mentioned in his letters home, Erza was just as scary as ever, Levy was becoming amazing at Solid Script Magic and Lucy had to say that she herself was doing pretty well with her Celestial Magic. But still… sometimes she thought about what it would be like if the boy she had met eight years ago were to come join them. Sometimes she could envision Natsu in certain things that happened in the guild and it would make her chuckle. Her friends' memories of Natsu were dim compared to her own, so she kept them to herself, but still… Lucy couldn't help but wonder how Natsu was doing these days.

XXX

"I need more power, you have to teach me more!" "Sire, please, you can only learn so much at once, your magic and body need time to adjust." Said the lowly mage. Zeref laughed mirthlessly, "Time? Time is a commodity we don't have. This war has been going on for sixteen years, I don't want to spend sixteen more doing the same. I want to crush Fiore for what they did to my family. Now, are you going to teach me more, or shall I look for your replacement?"

The mage gulped, torn between pleasing his king and keeping him alive. Of course, if Zeref died then maybe this war would finally end since there would be no one left who cared about vengeance anymore, but who would take the throne next? Would they have a bloodlust even greater than Zeref's? The mage looked at the man who had become king at the age of sixteen and knew that even if he said he would teach him no more that Zeref would make good on his promise to search out another teacher. Sighing, he said "Very well your highness, but please don't push yourself to hard, I would not want to lose you."

**Note, Gajeel and Natsu's ages are, as far as I know, unknown. So I decided, at least for this story, I wanted Gajeel to be the oldest out of the group of dragon slayers. Since Rogue and Sting are 20 in the year that Acnologia is defeated, that made them older then the age I gave Natsu (whom I made the same age as Gray because I just felt like if either of the two were older in the series they would hold it over the other's head XD) by a year so I made Gajeel two years older (ie Erza's age). Hope that all makes sense since I'm writing this note at basically two a.m. on the day I am writing this chapter. Of course all those ages are roughly since we don't know birthdays, so I basically had all of the FT members birthdays happen before the 7 year stasis and they waited until the next year to add to their birthdays, I could be off on that, but since, as far as I know/remember, Hiro Mashima hasn't said anything about ages since they returned, that's how I came up with the ages (or I may have gotten that all jumbled in my head since I did a major manga crash reading, with Rave Master, etc).**

**Also this was the last "setup" chapter, woot woot :D**

**Answers to Reviews!**

**I Live FairyTail: Thanks :D And sure I would love to know the name, though I can't promise when I will get to it, life is crazy right now.**

**Fireshifter: Thank you :D Yes, poor Natsu. While he hasn't found his friends, at least he has some family now :D**

**FTAnt: Oh look another time skip XD And one more coming too, lol. I can't wait for you guys to see the next chapter :D**

**Ushindeshi: Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Three Years Later**

Eighteen year old Lucy grinned at her four friends who had joined her on this quest. Erza, Gray, Romeo and Levy had let her pick the quest for once and so she picked one that sounded relatively easy. Gray had only recently returned from his training with Ur, so she pretended that she chose an easy one for his sake, to tease him. A village complained that about once a month or so for the last six months a group of young men would come to the town and always ended up causing a ruckus as well as doing damage to many of the town's buildings. They would barely recover from the rowdy men's last visit, when they would show up again like clockwork.

The mayor, who had sent in the request, was waiting for them when they arrived. "Thank goodness you are here, they are due any day now. I don't think they mean to cause such damage, but they seem to be powerful mages and I don't know if they know their own strength." she said "Our village has no strong mages so we have no one to stand up to them." "We'll do our best." Erza promised the mayor. "Where do they usually go when they come into town?"

The mayor half chuckled and half scoffed, "That's probably another part of their problem, they always go to one of the three bars first. Shortly after they start drinking, things get out of hand and well you know the rest." The group of Fairy Tail mages nodded before asking the mayor where the bars were. Then they decided to split up, Romeo would go with Gray to one, Lucy and Levy to another and Erza would handle the last on her own.

Erza wished that Jellal was there to join her, but he had gone to help out King Mystogan, a good friend of all of theirs who looked just like him, by pretending to be him while they tried to flush out an assassin. Edolas had been trying to join Fiore in the war, but something always happened to keep them from doing so, whether it was an inexplicable dry spell that caused a lack of food or assassins who took shots at Mystogan anytime he tried to go to some war meeting. They were hoping to be done with all this once and for all if they could catch this assassin. Erza hoped Jellal would stay safe.

A few hours later, Lucy looked towards the door as it opened, but it was just a drunk townsperson exiting the bar that she and Levy had chosen. "I beginning to wonder if maybe all the townspeople just happen to get drunk and rowdy and blame it on some imaginary strangers." She said as she turned back to Levy. Levy nodded and quietly replied "I know what you mean, all of these people have been middle aged to old, but maybe Gray, Romeo and Erza have been having better luck then we have."

Lucy accepted Levy's explanation of their lack of bad guys, it was quite possible after all and so she started to nod her head in agreement when suddenly a voice from the bar drew her attention. Somehow, during the short conversation she had just had with Levy, a group of four men and a teen girl had entered and sat at the bar. By the looks of the bartenders face, these were the ones they were waiting for. Funny the mayor hadn't mentioned a girl being with them. But then something else drew her eyes to the group, a head of pink hair so like her friend's from long ago.

She stood quickly and was followed closely by Levy, who was wondering if she should use this time to get Gray, Erza and Romeo. She quickly decided she should and, after tugging on Lucy's sleeve to get her attention and muttering out her plan, she left to do just that. Lucy continued her journey to the bar after watching Levy exit the front door, finishing her journey by sitting beside the man with pink hair who was currently saying "No beer for my sister, it may be her birthday, but she is still too young for it."

The hope that Lucy held in her heart was briefly deflated, Natsu had no sister when she had met him and this girl was clearly old enough to have been around at that time. But her hope was renewed when she saw a familiar blue Exceed fly in, though very much older than when she last saw him. She remembered her family receiving his egg when the Exceeds had to send away some of them for fear of them not surviving the food shortage that Edolas had been going through for three years at that point.

Unknown to Lucy, that's how the other dragon kids got their Exceeds. Grandeeney was friends with Queen Shagotte, who told her people of her plan to save the next generation from starving to death when the dry spell killed so many crops. Grandeeney had opened up their home for one for each of the dragon kids, taking in Carla for Shagotte's sake personally, though Carla did not know who her mother was nor her title.

Lucy did know that all Exceed parents knew what families had taken in their children and hoped that the land would soon recover enough for them to come home if they wished, which it was currently on the brink of becoming. Queen Shagotte's rule was limited to her people and their royal city of Extalia, but like his father before him, Mystogan had acknowledge their kind as their own sovereign people and felt that they should have just as much input to the ruling of Edolas as he did.

Shaking herself from her momentary musings, she couldn't stop herself from whispering "Natsu?" The pink haired man beside her stiffened at the faint sound she had made in the loud bar, turning towards her after a moment. Sniffing the air, he was about to ask if he knew her when he recognized the scent, though it wasn't quite the same as it used to be and almost unrecognizable. A wide grin filled his face as he practically shouted "Lucy?! What the heck are you doing here?! It's so good to see you!" He finished by pulling her into an awkward hug, since they were both still sitting on their bar stools.

The group that was with Natsu, heck the whole bar full of people, turned to stare at the two. Tears filled Lucy eyes as she said "It's really you isn't it? I was so worried about what happened to you after the way the war went when the king and queen of Alvarez died." "I was worried for you too, I tried to go to Crocus again, but that was after pretty much everyone had left and they didn't trust me, thought I was a spy for the Alvarez Empire." By now, the only ones really paying attention to the pair was Natsu's group of friends, the rest of the bar having lost interest at the mention of the war, an old and long tired of subject for many.

"Hey Natsu, are you going to introduce us to your cute friend or not?" asked Sting. Natsu rolled his eyes, though only Lucy could see him do so, before he said "Lucy meet Sting, Rogue, Gajeel and Wendy. Everyone, meet Lucy." "The Lucy from your story?" asked Wendy, to which Natsu nodded and Lucy blushed as she replied "I hope it was a good story." "Course it is, meeting you was one of my best memories." Natsu said with a grin, "Anyways, you never did tell me what brings you here Lucy."

Lucy chuckled nervously, looking down at the ground for a second before raising her eyes to look at him and said "About that. Apparently it's you guys who bring me here." Before Natsu or any of the others could question her, the door flew open with Erza calling out "Lucy, are you okay?!" Levy, Romeo and Gray were right behind her, the former two had their eyes drawn to a couple of Natsu's companions briefly. Lucy smiled at her worried friends before saying "I'm fine. Why don't we all take a walk outside and straighten this all out?"

Natsu looked at his friends who for once were willing to follow his lead, showing so by shrugging. Natsu, curios type that he was, said "Okay, let's go." They left their untouched drinks at the counter, which Lucy paid for for them without them seeing. The bartender smiled his thanks, relief evident on his face as the five unwanted patrons left the bar. Well four really, but since Wendy was with them no one knew if they could trust her not to do the same.

Once outside, Lucy turned to her friends and said "Guys, well everyone but Romeo, you remember Natsu, don't you? He came to Crocus for a day with his dad right before we all moved away." Recognition flickered on their faces and Natsu's as Lucy continued, "Natsu, Sting, Rogue, Gajeel and Wendy, meet Erza, Gray, Levy and Romeo." Greetings of all kinds were exchanged, before the group fell silent for a moment, Gajeel finally breaking the silence by asking "So what did you mean by we were the cause of this little reunion?"

"Well, we took this job because a strong group of mages was causing an awful lot of damage every time they came to town." Lucy replied, eyeing Natsu as she slightly altered the job description. The four boys looked embarrassed as Wendy glared at them, realizing the promise that they were on their best behavior when they went to town was faked. They apologized and said they really hadn't meant to, they were all just a bunch of hot heads, well Rogue was pretty chill comparative to the others but he would back up Sting just because they were closer to each other than the others. They admitted their fights got out of hand sometimes, they just hadn't realized how far.

"We're not the ones you should be apologizing to. Really the mayor and the townspeople are the ones you should do so to." Erza stated. The four men went to do just that, while Wendy waited with Lucy and the others. "You know when I met Natsu and Igneel, they didn't mention you Wendy." Lucy said. Wendy was about to answer, when an uproar could be heard in the direction Natsu and the others went. Erza turned to Lucy and Wendy and said "You two stay here, we'll be back. The townspeople may not be accepting the apology and since Wendy was seen with them their might be trouble so keep her safe Lucy."

Lucy nodded before her friends rushed off after the others, Romeo wishing he had been left to guard Wendy instead. Once they were gone, Wendy picked up the conversation and said "Well I didn't know Natsu then. I'm not really his sister, but we were both taken in by Grandeeney, me when I was very young and Natsu after Igneel disappeared." "Igneel is missing? Wait, Grandeeney? Oh my gosh you're that Wendy?!" Lucy exclaimed.

Wendy looked confused, not really sure which aspect of that outburst she should answer or question first, but she was spared from having to decide on part of it as Lucy said "I read your mom's book. I bought it because it reminded me of Natsu and Igneel." "Wait you know about Igneel's secret?" Wendy asked, her turn at being surprised by this conversation. "Yeah, Natsu told me about him all those years ago. Is Grandeeney like Igneel? I mean can she take a human form?" Lucy questioned. Wendy nodded as her reply.

"That's amazing… wait are the others being raised by her too?" Lucy questioned further and Wendy shook her head no, before telling who was raising the other three dragon kids. Lucy was amazed that not only were two humans being raised by dragons, but five were and that they all lived together. But then her mind went back to Igneel and she asked "So what happened to Igneel?" Wendy told her how he had disappeared on a supply run to Crocus a few years back.

Just as she finished explaining the others were seen heading back in their direction. Lucy turned to Wendy and said "Wendy, years ago Natsu made me promise not to tell about Igneel's other side. I never have, so the others don't know about that. Levy has read your mom's book and I'm not sure if she will put that together or not, so maybe not mention your mom's name if possible. That might lead to places Natsu doesn't want everyone knowing."

Wendy nodded her understanding, but that plan was short lived as when the group was drawing near, Rogue shouted "Well we got that all sorted out." "Yeah, we should head home before Grandeeney starts to worry about us Wendy." Natsu added. Lucy could have face palmed if it wasn't for the slight hope that Levy's brain wouldn't connect the dots. A hope that was as short lived as her plan, she knew it the moment she looked at her friend's face. "Wait a second…" Levy practically exploded.

XXX

Soon everyone knew what Lucy had worked so hard to keep a secret the past few years, well everyone in her little team. They were all walking through the woods, Natsu having offered for them to come visit the moment he realized where this was going, which was right after he saw the look on Lucy's face. It pleased him to know that Lucy had kept the promise he had asked of her so long ago and it also pleased him that the others were so accepting after their initial surprise that Igneel was a dragon.

The Exceeds had flown on ahead to let Grandeeney and the others know that they would be having guest so that they could be in human form when they arrived. That helped to ease the shock everyone was feeling when they finally arrived in the part of the woods Natsu and the others called home. It was a good size clearing, enough to house the adults when they were in dragon form with room to spare.

Lucy upon spying Grandeeney, who like the others was in human form, walked up to her and said "I read your book that you wrote when I was a kid. It's kind of my fault that your other form has been exposed, I had let Levy read it as well as I mentioned that you were raising a human daughter named Wendy. I'm sorry." Grandeeney smiled a gentle smile, much like Lucy's own mother and said "It can't be helped. It's my own fault for using my own name as well as Wendy's, my dragon pride couldn't help it." Lucy smiled in relief as she continued "And in honor of Natsu's old friends coming back into his life, tonight we feast. We hope you will spend the night and be our guests."

Lucy and the others accepted Grandeeney's offer and soon a meal was prepared. The Exceeds flying about, Happy finally getting a chance to hang out with Lucy and thanking her for asking him if he wanted to go with Natsu all those years ago. He was happy he had been able to provide companionship to Natsu in those lonely days after Igneel disappeared and before they met up with Grandeeney. He worried what Natsu would have done if alone during that time.

Laughter and music filled the night sky for many hours, by the end of the night all feeling like they had known each other forever. Lucy noticed Natsu wander off at one point and she followed, not sure if she should or not but unable to help herself. She knew Natsu knew she was following him, that he could tell her if he didn't want her company and since he didn't she rushed to catch up. "What's up Natsu?" she asked as they continued to walk. "It's just… Now that you are back in my life I don't want to think about you leaving it any time soon. But I know you have to go home to your family."

Lucy was quiet for a minute, letting him lead her carefully over a stream while she collected her thoughts. Finally she asked "Why don't you come with us?" Natsu looked surprised as he asked "To Magnolia?" The Fairy Tail members had told everyone what had happened to them shortly after Natsu and Igneel's visit to Crocus, but she was surprised that Natsu remember the town she had named. "Yes and maybe even to Fairy Tail, your dragon magic could be passed off as regular magic and we wouldn't have to be apart."

Natsu looked hopeful for a minute before he sighed and said "I don't know, what about the others?" "They could come too, if Grandeeney is okay with Wendy coming that is." Lucy provided an answer. "And what about Igneel? I haven't been able to take a dragon form no matter how much I practice and I just know that if I could have back then I could have kept whatever happened to him from happening." Lucy could hear the guilt in her old friend's voice and it broke her heart.

She thought once more before grinning and asking "Why not make it an official Fairy Tail request? You can ask my guild to help you look for your missing father, Igneel, and that's all they need to know. Then you and whoever else wants to can join me in the search for your dad." Natsu looked at her with wide eyes as he asked "Do you think that is possible!?" "Sure, Master would be willing. Come on, what do you say? Should we ask Grandeeney for her permission tomorrow?" "Oh yeah, I'm fired up now!" Natsu declared.

Natsu calmed down and grinned at his friend and said "Thanks Lucy, for keeping both of your promises. The one to keep my dad's other form a secret and that we would see each other again someday." Lucy giggled and said "I wasn't sure then that we would, but I hoped saying it would make it possible. I'm glad it worked." Natsu's smile faded and he said "You know, just before he left that last time, Igneel told me something important, but I can't remember what it was." Lucy hugged him as she said "Don't worry Natsu, I'm sure someday you will remember or maybe you find him and he can tell you himself."

His grin returned as he said "Thanks Lucy." The two friends walked back to where they would be staying that night, both bidding the other a reluctant goodbye as they would rather have spent the whole night talking. But they had a busy day ahead of them and, Natsu thought, the first steps would be taken for finding Igneel!

**Answers to Reviews!**

**I Live FairyTail: I'm glad you loved the last chapter :D I'll try to look at it soon, but you might need to remind me after the holidays, things are pretty crazy here right now XD**

**FireShifter: It makes me really happy to hear you say that :D Thanks!**

**FTAnt: lol isn't Zeref usually a little unhinged? XD but yeah reasons will be explained ;D**

**Ushindeshi: lol yep he is XD**


	5. Chapter 5

Grandeeney had given her blessing for the dragon children to all go, including Wendy. "While you are gone, we shall look for Igneel ourselves. It is time the king was returned to his home and family." she had told Natsu in private after he had made his request of her, "Keep watch over Wendy for me." Now the group was walking into the outskirts of Magnolia. "Ah, home sweet home." Levy said. Lucy's group had refused payment from the mayor of the town, but they still had to report back to Makarov to let him know what happened and for Natsu to make his formal request for help in searching for Igneel.

Once they arrived there, the dragon children were all surprised at the guild hall, it felt much like their own clearing in the woods as far as while most of the individuals within it were not related to each other by blood, it still felt like one big family gathering, complete with bickering, laughing and just enjoying everyone's company. They were still taking in the sights when a blur of blue came rushing at their group.

"Gray, my love, you have finally returned!" the blur declared as its form became noticeable of that of a blue haired woman as she threw herself on Gray, hugging him to her. "What the… who the heck are you?" "Oh forgive me, I got over excited there for a minute. My name is Juvia, I used to work under Lamia Scale, but when Lyon returned from training with Ur and he showed me a picture of all of you… well… I just had to meet you." Juvia explained quickly as she separated a bit from Gray, who continued to try to put even more space between them.

"Looks like you picked up a fangirl Gray." Lucy chortled. Juvia turned towards her darkly, pointed at her and declared "Love Rival!" "What!?" Lucy exclaimed, while the others around them all laughed, already feeling like Juvia was going to be an interesting addition to Fairy Tail. A voice from near the back of the guild yelled out "I'm glad to see you brats made it back in one piece. Who did you bring with you?"

Lucy smiled, taking Natsu by the hand as she moved towards the voice of their master. "Master, this is my friend Natsu, the one I told you about. He and his friends ended up being the reason we went on the quest in the first place. Now Natsu has something he wants to ask of you." Lucy said, finishing by pushing Natsu forward, who stumbled a little before standing before Makarov, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry for the trouble we caused, we didn't realize we were doing so much damage." Natsu began, "Lucy said your guild takes job request and I have one for you, if you're willing to take it anyways." Master Makarov nodded his head and said "Lucy has talked about you since joining the guild a few years ago. Anyone who is a friend of any one of my children, whether they've been on their best behavior or not, is welcome here. Now what is this job you want us to take?" "I want you to find my father, Igneel." Natsu stated firmly.

Makarov's mind raced, as he thought to himself "Igneel? As in the king of the dragons? I knew that Lucy had said that his father was special to me once, but I hadn't though the dragon king himself had taken in a human child. He has been missing for a number of years… let's see if my theory is correct, for I know what type of magic Natsu would have learned under Igneel." "Of course we will help you find him. Will you be joining us? What kind of magic do you use?"

Natsu signature grin burst forth as he said "Thanks! I do Fire Magic. My friends do Iron, Wind, White and Shadow Magic." "So I was right, it is that Igneel… hmm I have always thought something was off about Igneel's disappearance, perhaps it's time I did something about it." Makarov thought to himself before adding out loud "You're welcome. In fact, everyone besides Jellal will be put on this job immediately, his job help Mystogan is just as important as this one."

Natsu titled his head to the side slightly in confusion, before Makarov whispered for his ears alone "I never thought Lucy meant your father was that special. I have been bothered by the dragon king's disappearance for years, its time I started doing something about it." Natsu's widened slightly in surprise, but he grinned his thanks all the same. Louder, Makarov shouted to the room "Everyone, put down your job request unless we have already said we would help and come here."

Once all of his children except for a few who left to do jobs and would be brought up to speed later had gathered around him, Makarov continued "Listen up you brats, we have been tasked with finding Natsu's father, who has been missing for many years. Until he is found there will no taking jobs unless you absolutely need the funds for food, etc. Natsu will describe him for you so you will know him when you see him." Natsu gave a complete description of Igneel's appearance as a human, leaving out the dragon form for now, the fewer people who knew about it the better.

"Now, break off into groups of at least two mages, I don't want anyone going out alone on this one. Mira and Freed will organize which groups will go to where." Makarov finished with, "Stay safe my children." Lucy smiled and turned to Natsu and said "Want to be on my team? We can catch up more while we search for your dad." "Sure! Let's go see where we'll be sent." The two mages made their way over to where Mira and Freed were standing, Lucy saying "Hey Mira, I'm teaming up with Natsu and Happy to go look. Where do you want us?"

"Well if you could get a slightly bigger team together, I would send you guys to another country, something tells me that Igneel isn't being held here." Mira replied, while Freed nodded his support of her theory. "I don't think that will be much of a problem. Natsu, why don't you grab a few of your friends and I'll grab a few of mine and we'll meet back here for Mira to send us on our way." Lucy said. "Okay, be back in a jiff." Natsu said, making his way through the crowd to the nearest of his friends.

When they returned, Lucy had Erza, Romeo, Levy, Gray and Juvia, who had insisted she couldn't be separated from her darling Gray much to the former's discomfort. Natsu had Wendy and Gajeel and of course all of their Exceed friends. Natsu explained by saying "Sting and Rogue had already been asked by another group to join in their search area and were on their way out the door with Frosch and Lector to join them."

"We're going to be sending you to Tartaros, a country on the other side of Edolas." Freed said, looking up from the list they were forming, "On the way back, you can get a status update from Mystogan and Jellal for the Master. That is if they are still working on uncovering the assassin at that time." "Sounds like a good plan to me." Erza replied, thinking about getting to see Jellal since it had been awhile, perhaps they could even stop by on their way to Tartaros and say hi.

The group exited the guild and Lucy said, "Let's meet back here in an hour, that should give those of us who aren't packed and ready a chance to do so as well as say goodbye to any family or friends we wish to." Erza invited Wendy and Carla to join her so they wouldn't be lonely, Gray doing the same for Gajeel and Lily though his reasoning was more so to keep a barrier between him and Juvia. Natsu just naturally fell into step with Lucy, both feeling an invitation unneeded, Happy flying contently behind them.

Natsu and Happy were taken aback when she started walking up the steps to a mansion. Noticing the lack of Natsu by her side, Lucy turned to see them staring open mouth. She laughed and said "Come on Natsu, Happy, it's just a building." Natsu didn't say a word, but continued to follow her in. His mouth remained hanging open and if it could have it would have dropped even more upon seeing the inside. The decorations screamed rich person lives here, not to mention a butler met them at the door. After inquiring about the whereabouts of her parents, Lucy took Natsu and Happy by the hand and paw, pulling them through several rooms and hallways until they arrived at the dining hall.

"Mom, Dad I'm home and I brought guests." Lucy said as she entered. Layla and Jude turned to their daughter with a smile. Layla instantly recognized the blue Exceed that was slightly behind her and said "Oh Happy, it's good to see you again after so many years." Happy returned her greeting as Jude asked "Well we both know Happy, but who is this? Is this the Natsu kid you gave him to?" "Yes dad, this is Natsu. I ran into him on my last job and he returned with me, along with some friends of his, to request our guild's help." Lucy answered.

Layla had a sad look on her face as she said "You're going off again aren't you?" "Yes mom, this time will probably be for a few weeks, we're going to Tartaros in search of Natsu's dad." Lucy replied, stepping close enough to give her mom a hug. "Tartaros? Is that safe? I know that trading with them has been difficult lately and I can't help but worry that there is some sort of unrest going on there." Jude asked, concern for his daughter filling his voice. "Don't worry dad, besides Natsu, Happy and I there are nine others going, one of which is Erza."

Hearing that Erza would be with them seemed to set Lucy's parents minds at ease and they asked the two to join them for lunch, to which Natsu happily agreed. "I'll be right back, I just have to pack a bag real quick." Lucy replied. Once Lucy had left the room, Jude turned to Natsu and said "I'm holding you personally responsible for my daughter's safety. Erza is strong, but since this is your job request, I expect you to watch out for her." Layla put a comforting hand on Jude's arm as she softly said "Now Jude, Lucy can handle herself, she will be all right."

Natsu looked Jude in his eyes and said, "I promise I will do everything in my power to keep her safe sir. Lucy is great friend to me, I would never want harm to come to her." Jude accepted Natsu's answer with a nod, sitting back as the first bits of food were brought out. Lucy returned a few minutes later to see her parent's eyes bugging out at the ferocity Natsu attacked his food with. Sighing to herself, Lucy thought "I should have told them to mind their manners."

She walked up behind him and Happy, who was also sending some pieces of fish flying here and there, and whacked them both gently on the head, just enough to get their attention. "Geesh you two, have some manners and stop inhaling your food like that. There's more where it came from and we have some time still." Lucy demanded, as she took a seat between Natsu and Layla. Layla and Jude hid smiles behind napkins as Natsu rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment and said "Sorry Lucy."

From that point on, both were well behaved and the family shared many laughs over Natsu's stories as he told of things he had done since last he saw Lucy. Sooner then she would have liked, it came time for Lucy to leave again. She stood up from her chair and gave both of her parents a kiss and a hug, saying goodbye to them before leading Natsu and Happy out of the room. She picked up her bag that she had placed just outside its door and, with a final wave over her shoulder at her parents, Lucy took the first steps on the next part of her journey.

**Happy Thanksgiving guys! As a gift for ya'll I decided to upload Friday's chapter today. So the next new chapter will be on Monday :D Also I had way to much fun writing Juvia's entrance, I hope it tickled your funny bones as much as it did mine XD Course it was late at night when I wrote/edited this chapter, so if you don't find it funny… I blame sleep deprivation XD**

**Answers to Reviews!**

**FireShifter: Thanks! And yes! Finally I have reunited Natsu and Lucy :D**

**FTAnt: This was the Juvia scene I mentioned awhile back XD Yay, glad you liked the last chapter :D and aww, thanks!**

**Ushindeshi: So am I! It felt like forever that they were separated when I was writing it, even though it was really just over two chapters worth :'D **


	6. Chapter 6

The good sized group walked and talked like old friends, both parties blending well together. Even Gray was finding Juvia less annoying every day they were on the trip. Sure the boys liked to rough house when they were stopped for lunch or the night, but they all knew to listen when the girls told them to quit it, especially Erza. Both Natsu and Gajeel quickly learned not to cross the red head, each admitting to the other that she was scary.

Soon the castle of Edolas came into view, the group stopping at the top of a hill with a good view of it. "Should we stop on this part of our trip or on our return?" Lucy asked, though just like everyone she was waiting for Erza's decision since Jellal was there. "It wouldn't hurt to stop both times." Erza said simply, causing those closest to her to hide knowing grins behind hands and sleeves.

When they arrived at the castle, they were barred from entering at first, but Erza said "Go and tell Mystogan that Erza is here." One of the soldiers begrudgingly went to do so, but soon returned and led Erza and the others through the castle. When they arrived in the throne room, Mystogan asked everyone to leave but his personal bodyguard. The soldiers reluctantly did so and, after they left, Mystogan's guard cast a spell to keep them from being overheard.

Then Mystogan came and gave Erza a hug, or rather Jellal as Mystogan did. "It's good to see you Erza, to see all of you. I see we have some newcomers." Jellal said as he pulled back from the hug. Erza quickly explained what they were all up to and who the new people were, before asking "Are you having any luck with locating the would be assassin?" Jellal and Mystogan both shook their heads, an annoyed expression on both of their faces. "No, I'm beginning to wonder if they somehow caught onto our little ploy here. Even the Exceeds have been trying to help us, but to no avail."

"Maybe we could help. You could say we have a nose for such things." Natsu offered as he motioned at Gajeel and himself, earning confused looks from Mystogan and Jellal, the former of which asked "So you know how to find assassins?" "Well I wouldn't say assassins, but even if they have been here for a little while, their scent should still be somewhat different than those who have lived here all or most of their lives. Like when we walked in, I could smell instantly that Jellal was a decoy." Gajeel provided.

Jellal looked at them with concern and asked "Do you think that is why nothing has happened? That they know we are onto them and plan to catch them?" Natsu shook his head and said "Even if they could smell the difference on you two, which the chances of that are pretty low, he would have probably used that to his advantage and taken out Mystogan when he was less protected. I'm sure there have been times when you were alone since you started this, correct?" Mystogan nodded as he said "Yes, many times."

Natsu shrugged and said, "So unless they are waiting for you to totally give up and have no powerful mages around when they do it, the assassin hasn't struck yet for some other reason." "Maybe they want someone to blame it on? If they are a newcomer or at least relatively new, they stand a greater chance of being suspected, but if they were to wait until some travelers arrive and then do it, they would have more of a chance of being overlooked." Wendy suggested.

"So what you're saying is, they could have been waiting for a group like ours, right?" Levy asked the young dragon child, who nodded and said "Yes." "Then this is perfect!" Lucy exclaimed, gathering all eyes to her." "How so, Lucy?" asked Carla. "No one knows that we are mages or that we are from Fairy Tail. Erza telling them to let Mystogan know she was here just by name may provide us with just the situation we need. When we exit this room, Erza can make a thinly veiled treat at Mystogan, maybe make it sound like she is some visiting dignitary from Fiore." Lucy said.

"Ah and when the assassin either hears this or hears of it he'll think he has finally got the perfect scapegoat and he may tip his hand, right?" asked Lily. Lucy beamed at the black Exceed and said "Exactly! Then we can all help capture him. We'll just have to use magic to keep an eye on Jellal until he shows himself, he could try a covert way like feeding him poison or a straight up attack. Natsu, Gajeel, do you think you could sniff out a poison if it was in the food?"

Gajeel shrugged and said "Shouldn't be too hard." "Good, then you two and Jellal figure out a way to relay it's poisoned without giving it away but so Jellal can fake taking it." Lucy said. "What about if it's not poison?" asked Romeo. "Then that's where the rest of us come in, we'll all take turns staying in the rough vicinity of Jellal so we can be there at a moment's notice to aid him and Mystogan in a fight." Lucy answered. "Sounds like the perfect plan." Jellal said with a smile.

"Wait, if I'm supposed to threaten Jellal, how are we to eat with him?" Erza asked. "Jellal will ask you to reconsider and be gracious, offering you to stay the night and to dine with him. You'll begrudgingly say something like you'll think about it." Lucy provided. Everyone approved of this and praised Lucy for her plan, causing the blonde to blush. After Gajeel, Natsu and Jellal had figured out their code word, they got ready to put the plan into action.

The staff located around the doors were shocked when they flew open, Erza storming out before turning and saying "I can't believe you would say something like that to me! See if Fiore ever sends food for you again in a time of need. In fact, I hope the next time I come here I deal with someone besides you." "Please Erza, wait!" Jellal exclaimed, "I didn't mean it that way, please reconsider and give me a chance to make amends. It's late, and your companions look tired. Stay the night and dine with me, I promise I will make it up to you."

Erza scoffed, before gruffly saying, "We'll see." She looked at the gawking about servants and pointed at one and said "You there, show me and my companions to my room." The poor servant nodded swiftly before practically running down the hall, followed closely by Erza and her entourage, who pretended to send looks of apology in Jellal's direction. Lucy just hoped that this plan would draw out the would be assassin.

XXX

That evening, Erza and her group made their way into the dining hall where Jellal and Mystogan were already seated. "Thank you for giving me another chance Erza." Jellal said with a smile. "I'm not sure I am, but my group was hungry and I was outvoted." Erza said coolly, taking her seat. Jellal smiled, but said nothing as the first course of food was delivered to each person. Natsu, who was seated closest to Jellal out of the group, sniffed, but said nothing, so the meal continued as planned.

Only once dessert was delivered did Natsu smell anything amiss. He turned to Lucy and asked "Is this pumpernickel?" Lucy turned to him with a confused expression as she asked "What do you mean Natsu? Pumpernickel is a type of bread? This is Angel Food Cake." "Right, I knew that, I better eat this fast before someone else takes it." Natsu pretended to look embarrassed before digging in. Lucy rolled her eyes as she muttered, "Since when did you ever eat anything slow?"

Jellal pretended to take a bite, before turning to Mystogan as if to ask him something. Suddenly Jellal just slumped over, Mystogan catching him as he called out "Sire!" While most of the room was focused on who they thought was Mystogan, Levy noticed one of the servants had a slight smirk on their face before replacing it to match the concerned look of the others in the room. She made a mental note of their face as Mystogan ordered "Quickly, let's take him to his chambers!"

The servants in the room jumped to follow his command, taking their fallen king to the room while one was sent for the royal doctor. While most of Erza' group moved to follow them, Levy grabbed Gajeel's arm and said "I think I saw who did it. Come on, let's follow her and see what she does next!" They followed the dark haired woman until she exited the castle walls. She went to a nearby bar, where she slid into a booth with a silver haired man. Levy and Gajeel quickly slipped into the one behind him without them noticing.

"I did it Keyes, there were some visiting dignitaries and they had a spat with the king so I thought it was the perfect time to strike. To make it even better, they're from Fiore!" the girl said. "Well done, Seilah, you will be rewarded well for this." The one called Keyes responded to her. "I'm going to stick around for a few more days, to avoid suspicion being place on me rather than them, but I'll soon quit since I couldn't stand to stay after the death of my poor king."

While the two were busy laughing, Levy and Gajeel slipped back out of their booth and went back to the castle. They made their way to Mystogan's chambers where the rest of their group was standing outside. The doctor came out and shook his head, "He has been poisoned. I think all those present should stay in the castle until this has been sorted out." "May we see him doctor? I want to offer my apologies… while there is still time." Erza questioned

The doctor had tested the poison and while it was fast acting in the sense of knocking its victim out, the victim would also be able to regain consciousness several times before death, something Natsu had heard and passed onto the group. The doctor nodded, having been filled in by Mystogan and Jellal in their parts to beat out the assassin. "Yes, but do not let him tax himself, we must make him as comfortable as possible in these final hours." With that the doctor bid them goodnight and left.

Once the group had entered the room and closed the door, Mystogan again cast the spell that blocked people from hearing what was said in it. "So did we find our assassin?" asked Jellal from his place in bed. "Yes, it's a servant called Seilah, or perhaps she doesn't use that name here and that is her real name. But Gajeel and I can point her out. She reported to someone called Keyes and said she would be leaving here in a few days." Levy answered.

"Keyes? Did he have silver hair?" asked Mystogan. "Yeah, why?" Gajeel questioned. "I could be wrong, but there is someone named Keyes who is the right hand man of King Mard Greer of Tartaros. If it is him, I don't know why he would be attempting to have me assassinated. We're not best buddies or anything, but our country isn't on bad terms either." "Hmm, right before we left my house to begin this journey, my dad mentioned that trading with Tartaros had become difficult lately. He thought there might be some sort of unrest there. I can't help but wonder if maybe Tartaros is a bigger threat than we originally thought." Lucy stated.

"It's possible, I suppose, but what could they hope to gain?" Mystogan questioned. "Well, you're willing to back up Fiore in our fight against the Alvarez Empire right? What if they don't want you to? Think about it, every time you are ready to throw in your support, something happens whether it's a famine or bad fires or this assassination problem. Now if they don't want you to join us, then that means they don't want an end to the war, at least not yet." Lucy pondered out loud.

"But why wouldn't they want the war to end?" Erza asked. "Well, while they are mighty, Tartaros is small in size. They could never take down Fiore or the Alvarez Empire by themselves and the only country near enough to assist them is yours, Mystogan, and Edolas is on good terms with Fiore and you really don't harbor any personal ill will against the Alvarez Empire. What if Tartaros is wanting more land?" Levy said, picking up on Lucy's train of thought. "What if this whole war was started by them in an attempt to take out other countries so they could rule more? The only reason you probably weren't drawn into this fight, is because you would team up with Fiore and not be so easily pitted against them." Wendy added.

"So what you three are saying is, the prince of the Alvarez Empire was kidnapped and Fiore implicated just because Tartaros is tired of being constrained in their military growth by lack of land?" Gray asked. Lucy nodded and said "Yes. I would give anything to know who told the king and queen of the Alvarez Empire that Fiore's king was behind the kidnapping, I bet it was one of Tartaros men." "It definitely seems like a high probability when you put it that way." Gajeel muttered.

Natsu exclaimed "Hey I just remember that thing my dad told me right before he disappeared! He said he had a plan to stop the war, but what it was exactly he didn't tell me." Everyone in Erza's group looked excited as Juvia asked "So if we find your father, we could finally be able to put a stop to this war!?" Natsu nodded and grinned while Romeo added "And with the way things are looking, if Tartaros is really behind all of the crappy stuff that's happened, Igneel probably got captured by them." "Looks like Gramps put us on the right track!" Natsu smirked, "I can't wait to head on to Tartaros now!"

**Note, I humanized Keyes and since he was a skeleton I went with silver hair for him. *shrugs* XD also I love Seilah and so I just had to include her in this story XD**

**Answers to Reviews!**

**FireShifter: Thanks so much, I'm glad you enjoyed your Thanksgiving present :D Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!**

**FTAnt: lol yeah that annoys me, like I don't mind her being saved/rescued by people, but so many treat her like a complete air head and she really isn't. Which those last few episodes of Fairy Tail show XD And aww thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

Heading on to Tartaros would have to wait a bit longer, however, as there was still the matter of the assassin and what to do about her. Mystogan hadn't recognized Seilah's name, but he had recognized her when Levy and Gajeel pointed her out to him. Here she went by Selena, he told them, and he had considered her a good employee and was shocked to learn she was the one trying to kill him. He decided to play along and pretend he was dead. "Then maybe I can finally start helping Fiore while you go looking for Igneel."

"Much as I would like to have Jellal join us, how long do you think they will buy that you are dead?" Erza questioned, "The minute you start helping Fiore, they'll just send someone back here to either kill you or cause some other problem." Mystogan grinned and said "With any luck, by then you'll have found Igneel and he'll have brought an end to this war. Now, shall we plan my wake?"

The next day it was announced that King Mystogan had died. The castle mourned for the loss of their beloved king and, just as she said she would, a few days after Mystogan's death, Seilah pretended she couldn't deal with him being gone and left. After she had been gone a day, Mystogan revealed he was alive to the rest of the staff, who were thankful their king was still alive as well as shocked by Seilah's deception. They thanked the Fairy Tail members and dragon children for their help in revealing her and bid them good luck on their real work, which they were kept in the dark about of course, as they left the castle joined by Jellal.

"You know, going into Tartaros just got a whole lot more dangerous right?" Carla questioned the group, it was a thought she had been stewing over for days. "I might also have a solution to that." Lucy spoke up. Turning to her Fairy Tail friends she said, "Remember how just after we moved to Magnolia and Dad's business really took off so he sent me to some fancy school in Acalypha?" "Yes, why?" asked Levy. "Well, while there I became real good friends with this girl named Brandish. Turns out my parents and her mom, Grammi, were all really good friends too and they grew up together there."

"You went to a fancy school Lucy?" Natsu questioned. Lucy nodded and said "Yeah, but I only stayed there for about a month. Brandish was pretty much the only normal person there, everyone else were such snobs that I wrote my parents and begged them to let me come home. My mom convinced my father that I didn't really need any of the lessons being taught there and I was saved. Anyways, I've kept in touch with Brandish, who also convinced her mom to let her leave shortly after I did, since then. They both live just a few towns inside the border of Tartaros, they moved there with her father when he was alive."

"Do you think they will let all of us stay with them?" asked Gray, "I mean with Jellal we now have ten humans and three Exceeds, that's a lot of people to put up." Lucy shrugged and said "It can't hurt to ask. Worst case scenario we end up not having as safe a place to spend the nights at while we do our searching." Everyone agreed to this as Erza led the group closer to the end of this leg of their journey. But she and a few others decided to make a short stop as a surprise for the Exceeds in their company.

Not too far from the castle, was the royal Exceed village of Extalia. The buildings, which had all once been Exceed sized, were a mix now of both Exceed and human size. Queen Shagotte had held visits with many visiting dignitaries and thus had seen fit to make places where they could meet, sleep and eat in comfort. It was only as they grew closer that the Exceeds realized where they were going, the first of which was Lily. "Hey, is this where I think it is?" he questioned, causing the other two with him to really take in their surroundings.

Carla gasped and said "It's Extalia, isn't it?!" The Exceeds of the town had all stared in the direction of the arriving party, humans may not be unknown to them but their visits were scarce with those they didn't recognize so they were all curious. They soon noticed there were other Exceeds with them and some went running to tell the Queen and the Elders of the pending visit. Shagotte made haste to welcome the visitors, happiness spreading on her face as she saw a few young Exceeds with them, perhaps the first that they would welcome back!

"Welcome travelers and young Exceeds, to Extalia!" She proclaimed, "Are you here just to visit or did you hear that it is finally safe for the young to return home?" The three Exceeds looked at each other in surprise. They always knew that the plan, when they were sent out, was to one day be returned to their home, to their people, but none had ever thought about it as actually being something they would do. They were all close to their friends and those they lived with. "Well…" Carla said, but stopped, not knowing what to say.

Queen Shagotte held up her paw and said "Do not worry, from your faces I can see that neither of those things is what truly brought you here. Don't worry. May I ask your names?" "I'm Happy and this is Carla and Panther Lily." The young blue Exceed spoke up, seeing as the other two were a little too dazed to be answering. Shagotte smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, and which of you humans are the ones that took them in?"

Gajeel, Wendy, Natsu and Lucy all stepped forward, to which the queen asked "Will you tell us your names? Each parent knows who took in their child, so this way they can know, you can also say which Exceed is the one you took in." "I'm Natsu Dragneel and Happy is my best buddy." "I'm Lucy Heartfilia, I originally took in Happy but Natsu was in need of his companionship more than I was, which we can explain if the parents are interested to know."

"You're darn right we want to know why!" Exclaimed a white, male Exceed stepping forward. "Now Lucky, I'm sure there is a good reason." Said a blue, female Exceed, who put a comforting paw on his shoulder, before looking at Lucy, Natsu and Happy and saying "I'm Marl and this is Lucky, we are Happy's parents. Won't you come visit with us for a bit?" The three agreed and moved off with the Exceeds, while Gajeel spoke up next, "I'm Gajeel Redfox and I took in Lily." Just as with Happy's parents, Panther Lily's parents came forward and they all headed off somewhere private together.

Wendy smiled softly and said "I'm Wendy Marvell and I guess you already figured I took in Carla." The Queen's eyes filled with tears, Marvell was the last name Grandeeney used when she took her human form and she promised Shagotte that she would watch over her child personally, so that meant that Carla was… "Oh Carla, I'm your mother." Shagotte said as the tears finally broke free and rolled down her face. Mother and daughter stared at each other in shock for a minute before embracing each other, the rest of the Exceeds and the humans, minus Wendy, moving off to give them some privacy.

XXX

By the end of the day they weren't nearly done catching up with each other, but all of the Exceeds finally gave into the need for sleep and went to bed. When they awoke in the morning, the dragon children's companions came up to them and Carla said "We know you need to get looking for Igneel, so we want you to go on without us. We all need some time to get to know one another better and you can always pick us up on the way home or send word to Mystogan if something keeps you from coming back this way to meet you at Fairy Tail or wherever."

"This isn't goodbye forever, we just want to spend time with our families." Lily said. Wendy tearfully said goodbye to Carla before rushing off to join the others. It hurt Carla a little to see Wendy so upset, but she also knew in her heart that someday she was expected to rule Extalia and so she, most of all, needed to stay. Gajeel told Lily to watch out for himself, both too macho to admit they would miss each other. Once both had gone off to join those they would be staying or going with, Happy turned to Natsu and asked "Will you be okay without me Natsu? I can always go with you."

Natsu sighed and said "I can't honestly say I will be fine, I mean we've been together forever Happy, but I know the others will be there to raise my spirits if I start moping too much about missing you. You've been wanting to see them for longer than I've been looking for Igneel, it would be selfish of me to ask you to come when you've just started getting to know them. Don't worry little buddy, I will see you again." Happy nodded, feeling somewhat comforted about being separated from Natsu and left to join the others.

Natsu watched him go, only turning away when he felt a light hand on his shoulder. Turning to look he saw Lucy standing beside him, giving a gentle and comforting smile. He tried returning it, before looking back at Happy. He felt just like he had the night when Igneel didn't return, though he would never tell the little guy that. It felt like a piece of his heart had been ripped out and stomped on. He knew that this wasn't goodbye forever, but a part of him worried about being abandoned again, about Happy choosing his parents over himself. It was a selfish thought, he felt, but he just couldn't help but watch as the last part of what he considered his original family walked away.

**Answers to Reviews!**

**FireShifter: Aww I'm so glad it made your day! Glad you enjoyed it!**

**FTAnt: I'm glad you liked the feel of the last chapter, I was worried I might be over explaining things, but I was like oh well if it is XD Mystery books are some of my favorites (and shows too now that I think about it XD) so I guess that kind of showed with that chapter XD**


	8. Chapter 8

Lucy was worried about Natsu, he had been quiet most of the day, since they had left Extalia in fact. No one else really seemed to notice, they were all busy with their own conversations or distracting Wendy, who was also missing Carla deeply, so Lucy slid a little closer to Natsu and softly asked "Hey, you okay?" Natsu turned to her and tried to grin, but failed in doing so. Since they were already lagging behind the others, Lucy gently grabbed ahold of Natsu's arm and brought him to a stop.

When the others, including Gajeel and Wendy, were far enough away so they wouldn't be overheard, Lucy said "Natsu, please, tell me what's wrong? Does it have to do with leaving Happy behind?" To her shock, she watched some tears trail down Natsu's face as she softly said "Oh Natsu." She reached out and hugged him, one which he returned with a tight embrace as he tried to keep the tears from falling, which she noticed by his suppressed sobs what he was doing and so she said "Let it all out Natsu, it's okay."

Gut wrenching sobs started softly coming from him as Lucy held him tight, rubbing his back in small, comforting circles. Their friends by now had noticed they were missing and stopped to wait for them, but none of them moved to go back to the pair, seeing that Natsu needed a moment. His sobs went on for a few minutes before he quietly started to say around them "I'm just so worried. What if I lose the last bit of my family Lucy? Happy might choose to stay with his parents and I could never get in the way of that, but what if I don't find Igneel? I'll be all alone."

"I know Happy will come home to you Natsu, and we will find Igneel. But even if we didn't and Happy stayed in Extalia, you will never be alone. You've got Grandeeney and the other dragons, you've got Wendy, Gajeel, Sting and Rogue. And you've got Fairy Tail and me. There will always be someone there for you Natsu." Lucy replied gently, trying to pour in every ounce of belief that she had faith that her words were true into them. Natsu half sobbed, half hiccupped before asking "Promise?" Lucy nodded and said "Promise."

It took a few more minutes for Natsu to gather himself together, but then he was back to normal. Or at least that's how it appeared to most people. Lucy could tell he was faking it, but she played along with him, following his lead. As they walked, Lucy hoped that her promise that she had made to Natsu would never be broken, she would never want to hurt Natsu in that way.

XXX

Once they entered Tartaros, it felt like all eyes were on them. Whether people really were staring at them or if they were just on edge was hard to say, but one they didn't take time to stop and think on it. Instead, rather than breaking into smaller groups, they decided to go with safety in numbers than the possible obscurity the smaller sizes would offer. They soon reached the outskirts of the town that Brandish and her mother lived in and Lucy turned to the others and said "I think it's best if I go in there alone. It will draw less attention this way and if they don't want to house us we don't have to worry about people going after them just because they saw them interacting with us."

Erza frowned and said "I don't like the idea of you going in alone." "I'll go with her." Levy volunteered, sending Lucy a smile which she was about to return when Gajeel cut in and said "I don't think that's a good idea." "Why not!" huffed Levy. "No offense Shrimp, but we don't know what the people of Tartaros are capable, I don't think any girl or two girls should go off alone, unless one of them is Erza of course." Gajeel said with a shrug.

"I'll go with her." Natsu said quietly, he was still working through his thoughts but figured this could be part of his thanks to Lucy for just being there for him back in Edolas. Jellal nodded and said "Okay you two, get going, but be careful." Natsu and Lucy nodded and headed down the road into town while the others went into the woods off to the side of it to wait for them. "Do you know where this Brandish person lives?" asked Natsu. "Yes and no, I know where I send the mail to but I never visited her. We'll either have to ask for directions to the road or keep our eyes open."

They decided that as a last resort they would ask, but the less people who knew their destination the better, so after Lucy told Natsu the name of the road, he looked at signs on one side of the street while she looked at signs on the other. Finally he spotted it and took Lucy's hand as he led her across the road to it. They didn't have to go much further down the road before they arrived at the house and Lucy knocked at the door.

It was soon answered by a girl wearing black and deep purples, with green hair. "Brandish, it's me!" Lucy said with a smile. Brandish's face turned to one of shock as she questioned "Lucy? What are you doing here?" "It's a long story. Do you mind if we come in?" Grammi came into the room as Brandish closed the door behind their guest and was also pleased to see her daughter's friend. She too questioned Lucy why she was there, mentioning that Tartaros wasn't really a safe place to visit at this time.

It was Lucy turn to ask "What do you mean? Oh and this if my friend Natsu by the way." The two woman greeted Natsu, who responded in turn before Brandish explained "Not really sure why, but the king is on a major war path lately." Lucy turned to Natsu with concern and said "Do you think whatever they have had in the works all these years is finally coming to a head?" "What do you mean Lucy dear?" asked Grammi. "Well, that's part of the long story." Lucy said, before jumping into the story of why and how they came to be there.

When Grammi and Brandish heard that Lucy had more friends with her, they eagerly told her to go get them and that the rest of the story could wait until they had arrived. They came in groups of twos and threes until they were all there, nobody on the street having noticed just how full Brandish and Grammi's mid-sized house had become with people. Soon everyone was caught up in the tale of both the journey and about the unrest the country had been experiencing, as well as Grammi and Brandish's lives since Lucy had last seen them at the school.

After Grammi's husband had died, the business he had worked so hard to run, a shipping one much like Lucy's father's, had gone under. To keep the house that had been there home for so many happy years with him, the two had gone to work. Lucy knew that Brandish and Grammi had jobs because of the letters they had exchanged, but she hadn't realized how hard things had been for them lately. The two kept their part of the story brief, focusing mainly on the war-like comments the king had been making lately. It left the traveling group very disturbed.

"Maybe the reason for taking out Mystogan wasn't to stop him from joining Fiore, maybe they are just going to take over Edolas on their way there!" Romeo exclaimed. "If that's the case, we've got to move double time to find Igneel!" Wendy declared. "Do either of you have any idea where they would hold someone captive?" asked Juvia. Mother and daughter looked at each other, before turning back towards the group and Brandish saying "The only place they would hold someone that important for them to keep locked up would be the castle."

"How hard would it be to break in?" asked Gray, all of them knowing they wouldn't like the answer. "Impossible." replied Grammi, "But I might know another way in."

**Apologies for the short chapter, I needed it this way to set up the next part of the story. Also some unplanned things came up in my life and since I am still in the process of writing this story while uploading (something I have been avoiding doing lately, should have kept it up haha), the chapters may not be coming as fast. I still plan on Monday and Friday uploads to keep going per usual, but Wednesday (especially if this is still going Christmas week) might get dropped if life doesn't slow down on my end.**

**If by the Sunday of each week I have at least four chapters in advance (and it may not run that much longer, it all depends on how long the rest of my plans take to come to fruition xD), then Wednesday will get an upload :D That being said, I've been feeling under the weather the past few days and I just don't have the energy to really write anything so I'm taking the next week off from uploads entirely so that I can just recover a bit. Sorry guys (heart, since fanfic won't let me make one my usual way XD)!**

**Answers to Reviews!**

**FireShifter: Thanks 3 Yeah writing them going their separate ways and the first part of this chapter was super hard, I hate being mean to the characters XD**

**I Live FairyTail: No worries, I figured I would lose some people with the holidays and everything :D I mean, we have seen Natsu drink as well in the anime, though I do agree with you on Rogue, something about him doesn't make me feel like he drinks. Lol I hope that was a good can't believe and not a bad one XD Glad you liked Chapter 5!**

**FTAnt: Gah, I know, the ending killed me a little, as did the start of this chapter. Glad you liked the change up of deduction from fists XD**

**CrazyZaika: Glad you liked it :D lol nope, not upset :D It's just how I write. There are times where I will go into more detail because I want to be super sure that people get what I'm meaning or "seeing", but generally I like to leave it with some bits a pieces for the reader to add their own emotions, so to speak, in it :D**


	9. Chapter 9

"Do we really have to dress like this?" Gajeel questioned, before Natsu pointed at him, laughing as he said "Aww but Gajeel you make such a pretty servant girl." "Laugh it up, Salamander, you're next you know." Natsu stopped laughing and went pale as he turned to Gray and whined "Say it ain't so!" "They only let Grammi hire the housekeepers and I guess the king likes them all to be females. We're just lucky that the place is so big that they won't question her bringing in ten extra people." Gray said with a shrug. Romeo sighed as he said "I wish there was another way." "Well there isn't another feasible entrance, we'll just have to go along with Grammi's plan." Jellal said.

Lucy brought in some more clothes for Natsu and Gray to wear and caught the end of their conversation. Cutting in she said "You guys better be on your best behavior, Grammi is really putting herself on the line for us. If it comes to a point where you know that the only way out is a fight, ditch the clothes somewhere. I'm going to be watching you three especially." She finished by pointing at Gray, Gajeel and Natsu. "Why us!" Gray exclaimed. "Well those two have been known to tear up a town and you can get a bit carried away too Gray. Romeo and Jellal are just better at reining themselves in."

Romeo looked at the three older guys smugly as they grumbled, while Jellal raised a hand to hide his need to chuckle. Lucy left the room with her own smile, joining the girls in another room where they were donning their own housekeeper outfits. Soon both groups were ready and met in the main room to join Grammi and Brandish. Brandish gave Lucy a hug, she worked somewhere else and wouldn't be joining them, and said "Good luck. If something goes wrong and you can't come back here after you rescue Igneel, stay safe and I will see you again, hopefully soon. Mom and I have been talking about leaving here for a while."

"If things don't go too crazy wrong, maybe you both can join us when we leave." Lucy said as they broke off their hug. Brandish offered her a small smile and said "I would like that. Now you should all get going, they hate it when you're late for work at the castle. It's why I didn't last long there." Lucy laughed, in her opinion Brandish had always had perfect timing, but who were they to question royalty? After a chorus of goodbyes from the others as well, they all headed out the door after Grammi.

XXX

Four days. That's how many they had all been going to work with Grammi and they were starting to feel discouraged. They gave Brandish and Grammi all the money they were making to help cover the food they were eating and other expenses. Today, Natsu and Lucy had off as the king felt that there were actually too many housekeepers lately and he had randomly came up to them shortly after they started working and told them to go to Grammi and tell her that he was sending them home. So they had done so and, after stopping at Grammi's house to change into more comfortable clothes, they headed off on a walk of the country side.

"Maybe we can figure out an escape route in case things go bad." Lucy said. Natsu shrugged and said "We could always just ride Igneel out of here." "What if he is sick or too weak after being cooped up for so long?" Lucy asked. Natsu sighed and said "Good point. It's hard to think of him as being weak though, I've only ever seen him strong." Lucy softly smiled and said "I think that's how all kids look at their parents, Natsu." Natsu chuckled slightly and said "Probably."

Lucy flashed him a grin before pointing at a nearby mountain and saying "I bet we could see all the way to Fiore from up there. What do you say we hike up it and see if we can map out a basic route from up there?" Natsu returned her grin as he replied "Sounds good to me." The two spent most of the morning hiking up the mountain, which wasn't overly steep on the spot they were climbing up but did have several points that could be considered cliffs.

Finally they reached a height that Lucy deemed high enough and they moved out onto one of the outcroppings to get a better view. "Wow, it's amazing!" Lucy said, her voice soft in awe. "Almost reminds me of how the world looked from Igneel's back, though he could go even higher." Natsu added his own comment on the view, closing his eyes as a stiff mountain breeze blew past them. For a moment, he was reunited with Igneel, a moment that ended as swiftly as the breeze did.

Opening his eyes with a sigh he said "So which way is Fiore?" Lucy had watched all the emotions cross his face as he had closed his eyes and so she put a gentle, comforting hand on his arm before saying "Hold on, let me ask a friend." Natsu watched as she used one of the keys that she kept securely at her side to summon Pyxis. "Hey Pyxis, would you mind pointing out Fiore's direction to me?" Lucy asked the fair sized spirit.

The spirit nodded before pointing eagerly in a direction just slightly to the left of the one they were currently facing. "Thanks for your help." Lucy said before sending him back to the spirit world. The two stared out in the direction the helpful spirit had directed them and Lucy said "So that is the way we need to go once we get Igneel, it's much more direct then the roundabout way we took to get here by stopping in Edolas."

Natsu was about to agree, when Lucy let out a scream! She had stepped a bit too close to the edge and it had crumbled beneath her feet, sending her plummeting! "Natsu!" She yelled, to which in turn he responded "Lucy!" Without thinking, he jumped off after her, his heavier weight causing him to catch up to her in seconds. He pulled her to him, determined to protect her as best he could from the sure to be rough landing. Suddenly he felt a tingling all over his skin and before he knew it, scales completely covered his body and wings has sprouted from his back.

Not allowing himself to give into the shock at having finally obtained his dragon form, Natsu gave a few test flaps of his wings which slowed their descent. Lucy pulled her head away from Natsu's chest where she had tucked it upon him reaching her and looked at him in surprise, but said nothing as Natsu focused on learning to fly while falling with his best friend. He didn't quite get in an actual flight, but they did hit the ground softer than they would have and he wrapped his new wings around them to add a bit more protection to Lucy right before they first made contact with the ground.

They rolled for a minute, since they had landed just above the base of the mountain, before finally rolling to a stop. It took Natsu a very long minute to realize they had stopped rolling, but once he had he slowly unfurled his wings from around them. Lucy smiled at him and exclaimed "Natsu, you did it! You reached your dragon form! And you saved me!" Natsu looked at his body, now a miniature replica of Igneel's dragon form, though his was also slightly more humanoid.

"I can't believe it, I finally did it!" Natsu said, his face morphing from one of shock to one of joy and excitement. He flapped his wings experimentally before saying to Lucy "Want to go with me on a test flight?" Lucy looked a bit hesitant as she asked "Would that be safe?" Natsu laughed and said "We survived our crash landing from the mountain, I think we'll be fine. Plus I'll carry you rather than having you ride on my back, it will be more comfortable for both of us I think that way. I'll be able to protect you if something goes wrong."

Lucy looked down at the ground and then back at him, giving a firm nod as she said "Okay, let's do it." Natsu grinned before picking her up bridal style and flapping his wings. Soon they were airborne and both reveled in the feeling. After several minutes, Lucy breathlessly said "Natsu, this is amazing!" "I haven't felt this alive since Igneel was around! I mean yeah Happy can fly me around, but it wasn't quite the same as when Igneel took me and definitely not the same as this!" After saying so he did a barrel roll that left him laughing and Lucy screaming, though she had to admit it was fun.

A few more minutes later and Natsu sighed and said "We better get down before someone spots us, might put the whole plan into jeopardy." Lucy felt bad that Natsu had to stop doing something that was bringing him such joy, but she said "Okay. But hey, just think about how proud Igneel will be when he sees your dragon form!" Natsu laughed gleefully as he said "Yeah and I beat Gajeel, Sting and Rogue in being the first to do it! And they doubted me when I said we could, ha, in their faces!"

Lucy rolled her eyes playfully, but laughed with him, but she felt him tense up, his grip on her tightening as he did so and she asked "Natsu, what's wrong?" "Well two things really. One, I'm not really sure how I reached dragon form nor how to get out of it and if I can reach it again once I do." Natsu said sadly. "I'm sure you will be able to, after all the first time is the hardest, right?" Lucy said confidentially, "Now what's the other thing that has you worried?"

"Well… I'm not really sure how to land without crashing." Natsu said sheepishly. Lucy's eyes bugged out as she looked at the approaching ground, before she looked back up at him and said "Natsu…." "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe." he said as he tucked her head against his chest, "This may get a bit bumpy, so brace yourself." Lucy clung tightly, squeezing her eyes shut tight even though she couldn't really see anything as it was anyways, what with her head against Natsu's chest and all.

Natsu half landed, half crashed, though he managed to stay on his feet as he stumbled around, his tail the only thing keeping him from falling on his face and Lucy. As soon as he was steady on his feet, he said "You can open your eyes now Lucy." Lucy did so and said softly "You may not believe this, but I knew you could do it." Natsu chuckled as he set her on the firm ground. Then his face became serious as he said "Now I just need to figure out how to change back to my normal self." "Maybe if you think it?" Lucy suggested.

Natsu gave her confused look as he said "What do you mean?" "Well, maybe if you just think about shifting back it will happen. Or maybe if you don't think about it at all, I mean unless that's what you were doing as you were falling with me." "Well I was thinking how handy it would be to have wings… I'll try." Natsu closed his eyes and after a minute or so, his body started to morph back to his normal, pink haired self. His clothes returned with the shift, much to Lucy's relief and when he finally opened his eyes, he grinned as he saw it had worked.

"I'm going to try shifting a few times to see if I've got it and then we'll head back to Grammi and Brandish's house, sound good?" Natsu asked. Lucy nodded and watched as he did it a few times, each one seeming to be a little faster and easier than the last. Finally he seemed satisfied that he could do it whenever he wanted, that it wasn't just a fluke and so he led Lucy in the direction of the town, neither realizing that their flight had been observed by a few townspeople and had already been reported to the king.

**Ahh you guys have no idea how long I have waited to do this chapter! I had a minor debate with myself about making Natsu's dragon form come out when him and Lucy were attacked by some unknown enemy (meaning I didn't get that far in the thought XD) but I really liked the idea of him finding it mid fall XD **

**Answers to Reviews!**

**FTAnt: yeah the beginning was hard to write on the last chapter, just because I hate being mean to the characters, so to speak. But this chapter was my reward to myself for doing so XD**

**FireShifter: Thanks for the well wishes! And thanks so much for your kind words about the last chapter and for being so nice about me taking a break (less then 3, since fanfic doesn't let us do hearts), it made me feel better about leaving you guys in a lurch like that. Hopefully this chapter was worth the wait!**


	10. Chapter 10

When they arrived at work the next day, the castle was abuzz. Lucy and Natsu looked at each other, before walking up to Gajeel, who Lucy asked "What's going on? And why didn't you guys come home last night? Brandish has been worried about her mom." "The castle went into lock down just before we were going to leave last night. Apparently a dragon was spotted flying nearby. Weird thing was it sounded almost like Igneel, though the size that they were saying didn't seem right. Anyways, the king insisted that everyone had to stay here and put all of us who hadn't left up for the night."

Before Natsu and Lucy could recover from their surprise, Levy, who had been working nearby, spoke up and added "We couldn't explore though, we were ordered to stay in our room, something about moving a prisoner to another location." "Do you think it could have been Igneel?" asked Natsu excitedly. "It seems logical, I mean why else would the sight of a dragon cause such distress, but we'll keep our ears open." Levy said. Just then Grammi came over to them and gave them their assignments for the day, so Lucy and Natsu couldn't tell anyone about their day yesterday.

Natsu and Lucy were working in the throne room and it was amazing to them how much would be said in their presence, those who were considered beneath the royals really were invisible in a sense. King Mard Greer, grumbled "That dragon must have been searching for Igneel, what else would bring a dragon into our kingdom? They haven't been here in years." "There, there, my king." said Queen Kyôka, "He has been moved out of the deep dungeon to the nearby cell so that we can keep a closer eye on him and our best sorcerers have put spells around it to block smell or anything else a dragon could use to find him, just as we did his old one."

Natsu looked over at Lucy in excitement, that explained why he couldn't smell any trace of Igneel in the castle! And he was near the throne room somewhere! Perhaps Grammi would have an idea where that cell they mentioned was! If all went well he could be seeing his father tomorrow at the latest, today at the earliest if he could find a moment to ask her in private about it. It was hard, but he kept working, his ears listening for any other information he would find useful, which there wasn't any as the king and queen soon left the throne room.

XXX

Later that day, as the group ate their lunch in a field outside the castle wall, Natsu and Lucy filled everyone in. Brandish, who had come to check on her mom on her lunch break, turned to her mom and said "Do you think that the cell they are talking about is the room that only you are allowed to clean?" Grammi nodded and said "I wouldn't doubt it, especially since the king told me I wasn't to clean it until it was absolutely necessary to do so and only with a soldier accompanying me."

"How long until they have you do it again, do you think?" asked Levy. Grammi frowned and said "I wouldn't be surprised if it was a month or more, to be honest. The king isn't really known for his hospitality towards his captives." Natsu frowned and practically growled "That's too long. We need to get Igneel to stop the war before Mard Greer makes his move!" "What do you suggest we do then Salamander?" asked Gajeel. Natsu frowned as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought.

Everyone waited for him to speak and when he did he said "First we need to confirm that it is Igneel in there. Grammi, any chance of you being able to clean that room any time soon?" Grammi tapped a finger against her lip before she said "It has been some time since I have cleaned it, they might not question if I did it now. And if they did I could just say that I'm doing it so that way they can tell me themselves when I need to do it again."

Erza's thoughts were on another line, which she revealed by asking "Why are only you allowed to clean this room? Surely everyone knows it's a cell." Grammi nodded and said "Oh they do, even those who don't work in the castle know of the infamous cell where those the king and queen want to keep even more of an eye on are to be kept. It is the worst kept secret, but the king and queen still act as if no one knows otherwise. They so put their trust in the thought that its secure that they don't even lock it, they keep the prisoners chained in there so they don't see any point." "That could work to our advantage, since everyone knows we might be able to get closer to it than if they didn't without arousing suspicion." Jellal stated.

"We'll need as much information as you can give us Grammi." Juvia said "Like how many guards are there and are there other exits." Gray nodded and said "Yeah, and how close other guards are kept to the room and how often do they change." "If we can find out when they change, that would probably be our biggest asset, as we could worm our way in and out with no one the wiser." Romeo said. "If you can find out what kind of enchantments are around the room, I can start figuring out a way around them, at least the ones that could cause us trouble." Wendy added.

Lucy gave Grammi an apologetic look as she said "I know we are asking a lot of you, I'm sorry." Grammi smiled comfortingly at her and said "Don't be. I'm happy I can be of help to you and your friends." Brandish looked up at the sky and said "Well, I've got to be getting back to work now, but you be careful everyone, especially you Mom." Grammi hugged her daughter and told her she would be before waving her off to work. Once her daughter was out of sight, Grammi said "It's high time we were back to work too. I'll see what information I can get for you, if they don't stop me from cleaning that is, and tell you about it tonight."

XXX

That night, everyone gathered in the main room of Grammi and Brandish's home to discuss what she had learned. "First off, let me describe the man to you." By the time she was done, Natsu was practically jumping up and down in his seat as he said "It's got to be Igneel! What else did you learn?" "Well there are never any guards posted in the room, however there are two that are right outside it at pretty much all times, at least during the day. I told one of them that he looked tired and apparently they are on twelve hour shifts. If we were to be able to get the night shift one, as he works alone, he would probably be asleep near the end of his shift, which is about 2 in the morning. However I'm not sure how we would be able to get into the castle at that hour."

"Surely we could just hide ourselves in some room, right?" Erza asked. Grammi said, "Perhaps, but I wouldn't dare try it with too many." "That's okay, we would need someone to take our stuff somewhere we could safely meet them. Once we get Igneel, we can't come back here." Jellal pointed out. "Will you and Brandish be coming with us?" asked Lucy. Brandish and Grammi looked at each and Grammi motioned for her daughter to answer. "We've been talking about it and we decided that there is no better time like the present then to get out of here. There isn't much we would want to take with us, so we should be able to pack light enough to go with you." Brandish said.

Lucy smiled to show how happy she was as Erza said "We need to decide who should go to the meeting point and who should stay." "Unless there are any enchantments that need counteracting, I don't mind going to the meeting point." Wendy spoke up. "From what I was able to gather the only spells on him and his cell are to keep anyone from being able to smell him, for whatever reason. Perhaps they haven't been letting him bathe?" Those besides Brandish and Grammi, for Jellal had been brought into the fold of those who had knowledge of Igneel really being a dragon, shared a look but said nothing.

"So Wendy is one of those going, who else?" asked Erza. "I'll go with her!" Romeo quickly volunteered. "My mom and I will go with you, if that's okay." Brandish broke in. They nodded and Levy, Juvia, Jellal and Gajeel were also decided to be among those going to the meeting spot. Grammi nodded and said "Four is about the right size I say, you can have look outs and be able to help each other if worst comes to worst. I will show you where to hide tomorrow and where the room is." Gray frowned and said "But we still have the problem of getting out, don't we?"

"We can go over the side of the wall if need be." Natsu spoke up, though Lucy had a feeling he meant another kind of over the wall then what the others were probably picturing. "When Natsu and I had our day off, we worked out a route that should be the fastest way back to Fiore. Brandish, Grammi, do you happen to have a map of Tartaros?" Lucy asked. Brandish went over to a chest and rifled around in it before returning with a folded one. Lucy unfolded and pointed out the route that they could take as well as a good meeting spot.

Once that was done, Brandish and Grammi said that they would tell everyone that they were taking a few days off so that if the rescue went without a hitch no one would come looking for them too soon and cause it to be discovered. "They are feeding him, I asked the cook and she said he gets two meals a day, so at best we'll have a six hour head start, but we'll need those six hours I'm sure, with as weak as Igneel probably is." Grammi informed them. Soon after this, everyone headed to bed knowing that tomorrow would be the start of Operation Save Igneel.

**Answers to Reviews!**

**FireShifter: I had so much fun writing that part XD It seemed to take forever for the story to get itself to that point, it was one of the first few scenes I had planned in my mind and so I kept going ahhh it won't work for this chapter XD That it does and a very Merry Christmas to you too!**

**FTAnt: Ah the plot thickens! At least I hope it does XD lol yes, I figured that it would only be natural for Natsu to get it via saving Lucy XD I really liked the cliff idea, kind of reminiscent of the episode where he caught her when she escaped Phantom Lord, though this time he was on the same level as her and turned into a dragon in a sense…. But yeah, I liked this variation of my idea better than the battle save version I briefly considered (same basic scenario accept instead of rescuing her from falling he saved her from an enemy).**


	11. Chapter 11

The day passed by agonizingly slow for Natsu, after all in just a few hours he could finally be seeing his father again after so many years apart. No, he would be seeing his father, he refused to think that their plan could fail. They would succeed. They would free his father who in turn would bring an end to not only this war, but also all the problems Edolas was having. Tartaros would lose, he would make sure of that. Natsu looked at the time and nearly fainted from shock. He had thought that he would find that more than only a minute would have passed since he last checked.

His groan caught Lucy's attention and she asked "Everything okay Natsu?" Natsu nodded and sighed before answering "Yeah, this day is just really dragging by is all." Lucy gave him a compassionate smile before turning back to her work. She knew what he meant and Igneel wasn't even her father! Still this whole thing had her on edge and she would be glad when the castle of Tartaros was far behind them. She started talking to Natsu, hoping that by telling him stories, some about her own life, some ones she had read and some she just made up as she went, that it would distract him from the time.

It seemed to work, Natsu laughed at several, commented on some and told short stories when ones she told reminded him of something. Sooner than either of them expected, Grammi came to take them to the room where they were to stay until late at night. Here there were fresh changes of clothes waiting for Gray and Natsu as well. Jellal had cast a spell in it for them to make it so no noise they made would attract anyone, but they would be able to hear if someone was coming. Natsu kept one ear out for any footsteps that drew near, but no one bothered the group while they quietly talked amongst themselves until they heard a clock chiming the half hour, for once all of them thankful that the king had such a clock.

"Right, we should start heading in that general direction, we won't have much time before the guards start moving." Erza said. They arrived a few minutes later at the room and, sure enough, the lone night guard was asleep at his post. "Erza and I will stay here and keep an eye on him and things while you two go and get Igneel. Be quick about it." Gray whispered. Lucy and Natsu nodded before moving off to do as he ordered.

They tiptoed their way past the guard, freezing in their tracks when he let out a large snort, fearful that he might be waking up. After a softer snore followed, however, they breathed out gentle sighs of relief and continued on to and through the door. Laying chained to a hard piece of wood was Igneel, who didn't really take note of them until they were right beside him. His eyes started to widen and he was about to speak when Lucy held a finger to her lips. Natsu tried melting the chains, but that didn't work, so Lucy quietly summoned Taurus, who broke the chains.

He was a little louder than any of them would have cared for, but it couldn't be helped. She thanked him with her eyes before making a shooing gesture to send him away. Meanwhile, Natsu helped Igneel to his feet. The Dragon King was a little paler and thinner then when they last saw him, but the spark of humor, of determination, of life was still in his eyes. He stumbled a little, but Natsu held onto him, leading him towards the door.

Lucy opened it before taking Igneel's other side, though with each step he seemed to gather in more strength. Perhaps the sense of having freedom within his grasp lent it to him or maybe it was simply his adrenaline kicking in, whatever it was, Lucy hoped it would last until they were far enough away where they wouldn't have to worry about capture again. This was a hope short lived, though not because of Igneel.

Natsu mentally placed a thousand curses on the guards of the castle, it seemed that this one was one who thought it better to be early then late. His eyes were completely bugging out at the sight of the prisoner being escorted out of the room by one of the housekeepers and some unknown guy, though the hair looked familiar… His mind didn't have much time to react to anything else, for suddenly he was encased in a block of ice.

Gray motioned them to hurry, the original guard somehow having slept through that altercation, but they all knew that this guy coming on had another that would be joining him any minute. So much for a couple hours head start, they would be lucky if they got ten minutes. The five of them rushed down the hall, Igneel now moving on his own strength. Natsu fell to the back of the group to protect his friends and his dad, no way would he let anything happen to them with their mission so close to being complete.

Now that his sense of smell was returned to him, Igneel led them flawlessly through the castle, avoiding other guards until they were near the exit to the courtyard. Here, with the outdoors in view, the alarm was suddenly sounded, letting all the castle know of a prisoner having escaped. Soldiers seemed to come from nowhere as the first of the group burst into the outdoors. Igneel started taking on his dragon form, hollering for them to climb on.

Natsu was too busy covering their escape to listen to his father, so Lucy yelled to Erza "Go, we'll meet you at the spot, I promise!" before turning back to help Natsu, calling out Leo as she went. Erza didn't like it, but she told Igneel what Lucy said. Much as Igneel hated to do it, he knew his strength would not last long, his larger form sapping it more quickly than his human one so he took off into the night air, telling Gray and Erza to hang on.

Lucy had seen Igneel lift off, so she grabbed Natsu's arm and said "Natsu, we need to go. Igneel has already left with Erza and Gray." She saw the relief in his eyes, along with determination as he nodded. "Run with me Lucy, I'll grab you when I'm ready." Lucy nodded, shouting at Leo to cover for them. The Lion Spirit waved his understanding, using his magic to cause a big explosion of light to block Lucy and Natsu's escape as much as he could. Lucy hated to have Leo cover for them, but she knew it was the only way they were all getting out of there.

As they ran, Natsu concentrated and his dragon form started appearing. When they were almost to the castle wall, he grabbed Lucy and with a mighty flap of his wings, he lifted them into the air. Lucy felt Leo return to the Spirit World, she would have to thank him and Taurus later for everything. For now, she enjoyed the view from the air. In the distance they could see Igneel. Weak though he may be at the moment, his size alone was taking him to his destination faster than Natsu.

Lucy gave a happy sigh as she softly said "We did it Natsu. We freed Igneel!" Natsu laughed before doing a barrel roll in the sky, causing Lucy to give a shriek of slight fear, but also delight. "I can't wait until we get to the others so I can actually talk to him and give him a hug and, well, everything!" Natsu exclaimed, causing Lucy to also laugh.

Meanwhile up ahead, Igneel was almost to where they would meet the others. The ones on the ground had arrived at the meeting spot not too long ago themselves and all were tired, but Gajeel and Wendy said they could hear wings on the wind so they tried to keep themselves awake until the others reached them. All were worried when they saw just Erza and Gray, Levy being the one to voice it by asking "Where are Lucy and Natsu?"

"Things didn't go according to plan. The guard showed up early to his post and so our presence was discovered. Gray bought us some time by freezing the guy, but either the one sleeping or the other replacement guard alerted the castle just as we reached the courtyard. Natsu and Lucy stayed to hold them off while we got in the air, but Lucy promised they would meet us here." Erza explained. The other Fairy Tail members, Brandish and Grammi just nodded and accepted this. If Lucy said she would be there, she would. It was part of her personality and also part of her Celestial Wizard side that caused them to believe this.

This wasn't to say they weren't worried or wondering how she would pull this off, but they all had faith that she would be there as soon as she could. The others were a little skeptical, but they had to have faith. Igneel was already in his human form and Brandish and Grammi were still in shock that Igneel was really a dragon, which was being explained to them by Wendy at Igneel's request as he ate some of the small fire the group had lit when Gajeel said "I hear more wings." Everyone tensed up, did Maud Greer have a dragon on his side? Or some other flying creature?

"Brandish and Levy, you both take one of Igneel's arms, Wendy and Romeo you go with them to offer protection if we fail, Grammi of course you go with them as well. The rest of us will fan out around this clearing and take them on if they land." Before anyone could move to do as Erza said, Wendy said "It's too late." They looked above them to see a dragon shape lowering itself towards the ground, though this one was notably smaller than Igneel.

Igneel was exhausted and spent, but he would do his best to fight off the attacker he determined and was about to shift into his own dragon form when a familiar scent caught the gentle breeze stirred up by the other dragon's wings. His eyes widened as he yelled out "Hang on, don't attack." The others stared at him in confusion, but listened to him as the dragon got lower. They could now see he was carrying someone in his arms, Juvia was the first to recognize her "Lucy!" Lucy waved as the dragon finally touched down and they could all see he wasn't much taller than her.

To their surprise, as soon as Lucy was settled safely on the ground, the dragon's form began to shift much like Igneel's until it revealed Natsu standing there with a smirk on his face! He laughed at Gajeel and Wendy's expressions as he said "I told you we all had a dragon form if we would only try hard enough to reach it." Wendy congratulated him on doing so while Gajeel muttered "Great, now he is never going to let us here the end of this." Everyone went silent as Igneel moved towards Natsu, nothing but pride and love shinning on his face.

"Natsu, I didn't even know if it was possible for a human to do that but I'm proud of you for never giving up." Igneel said as he pulled Natsu into a hug. Just as Natsu was comfortably situated in it, Igneel pulled out of it and whacked him on the head "But that was the stupidest thing to do, you could have been caught, you could have gotten Lucy captured!" Lucy giggled, bringing Igneel's attention to her as Natsu rubbed the back of his head, a grin of his own on his face. "It's good to see you again Igneel." Lucy said, going up to give the man a hug of her own.

Igneel's face lost a bit of his gruffness and said "You as well. Tell me, how did you come to get tangled up in my rescue?" "Before we get into that, I think we need to keep pressing on to Fiore, if you can make it that is. With Mard Greer surely knowing that you have escaped at this point, the sooner we are out of Tartaros, the better." Jellal spoke up. The group as a whole groaned, but they all knew he was right. So while they walked, Igneel was brought up to speed on what had happened to Natsu after his capture, how he and Lucy had come to reconnect (which earned both Gajeel and Natsu a glare from Igneel) and finally of how they had set out on the quest and helped Edolas. They ended with their arrival at Grammi and Brandish's, earning thanks from Igneel for both of them.

"So when did you learn how to shift, Salamander?" asked Gajeel. This got everyone's attention and Natsu rubbed the back of his neck as he answered "The same day that a dragon was spotted and Igneel got moved to his new cell. Lucy and I went to see what was the fastest way back to Fiore from a mountain and she fell off a cliff. I jumped after her and, well, somehow ended up shifting." "Wait so you risked yours and Lucy's life on a chance that you might be able to shift!?" Romeo exclaimed. Natsu looked taken aback as he quickly replied "What!? No! After flying around a bit, we landed and I practiced shifting until I was sure I could do it whenever."

Everyone looked relieved at this causing Natsu to yell "Hey! I'm not stupid you know!" Lucy and Igneel chuckled and soon the topic switched to what had happened to Igneel all those years ago. He had just shifted from his dragon form to his human one as he neared where he picked up the supplies for Crocus, when a dart came and hit him in the neck. He just had time to pull it out and look at it before falling unconscious. When he came to, he was in the dungeon in Tartaros and there he had stayed until Natsu's flight was spotted.

They walked for several more hours that night, finally finding a cave to rest in just before the sun rose at dawn. Lucy called out Pyxis, with whose help she figured out that they were just half a day's walk from the border. "We'll wait until tonight and then set out. Someone will need to be up though at all times to make sure that we aren't spotted or attacked in our sleep." Erza decided. "I don't mind taking the first watch. I didn't go to work yesterday and ended up taking a nap for a bit." Brandish offered, which they all readily accepted. Soon they were all fast asleep.

**Answers to Reviews!**

**FireShifter: lol perhaps they are ;) I'm so glad it did! And another Merry Christmas to you too :D**

**FTAnt: lol yes it does, wahahahaha! **


	12. Chapter 12

**I know I said I wasn't going to upload on Christmas, but I was able to get this done in time so Merry Christmas everyone!**

They reached Fiore without any incident and soon after crossing the borders, they decided they had to split up. Gajeel and Wendy would head back to Grandeeney and the other dragons to let them know what happened, Brandish and Grammi would head to Lucy's house in Magnolia to stay until they had their own place. The Fairy Tail members would go to the guild and tell their Master about everything that happened while they were in Edolas and Tartaros before Romeo and Levy would head out to the Exceeds and let them know where everyone ended up.

Natsu, Igneel and Lucy would be going onto Crocus to meet up with the king and put step one of Igneel's plan into action. It was just going to be Igneel, but Natsu begged to join him and Lucy said she wanted to see how it all went in person, she wanted to write a story about their adventure, but she wasn't telling anyone that. Igneel had acquiesced and both had grinned at getting to spend a little longer in the other's company. In Natsu's mind the only thing keeping this moment in his life from being absolutely perfect was that Happy wasn't there. Hopefully that would change soon, he had told Levy and Romeo to tell Happy that if he felt like joining them they would meet him back with the other dragons.

He was pulled back into the moment as Lucy asked "So what is the plan?" "We are going to kidnap King Toma and King Zeref." Igneel said, causing Natsu and Lucy to stop in their tracks in shock. After a second Natsu exclaimed "This was your big plan all those years ago?! Are you crazy?!" Lucy's face told Igneel her thought patterns were similar to Natsu's but she was being less vocal about them.

Igneel chuckled and said "Maybe I am, but you know that neither of their forces will move against me, they fear us enough not to do so. And with you being able to take a dragon form now this can be accomplished quickly. You look like a smaller version of me, so if the soldiers see you from a distance or even up close they may mistake you for me. Besides, this plan is what got me captured by Tartaros all those years ago, somehow they found out what I was planning and they got me out of the picture."

Natsu glared at his father before sighing and asking "So which one do you want me to grab?" Lucy's eyes widened, she wasn't completely sold on this idea but it was clear Natsu wasn't going to question his father's thought process on this any further so she was now outnumbered. Igneel grinned and said "I'll grab Toma and you can get Zeref, we'll take them both back to our cave. We'll stop there first and drop Lucy off, Lucy would you mind preparing things for our guests' arrival?" Lucy sighed before asking "Do I really have a choice?" Igneel chuckled and said "That's the spirit!"

XXX

Natsu flew high enough so no one would notice his approach. It had taken a few days, but he had finally found where Zeref was located, near the front of the lines. If Igneel had taken Toma already, then it had been done so quietly that word of him missing had not reached Zeref or his men, for Natsu heard nothing about it from them. Suddenly he saw the king and the moment was perfect for taking him. For whatever reason, Zeref was off on his own, but Natsu wasn't going to question his good fortune.

He swooped down, silent as the wind flowed soundlessly around his wings, about to grab his target, when Zeref moved and sent a burst of magic at Natsu. Whatever kind Zeref used it stung and startled Natsu, causing him to lose focus and crash into some nearby brush. "How dare you attack me dragon!? Don't you know that Igneel hasn't chosen sides, and thus all dragons are to remaining neutral?" Zeref demanded, keeping his hands pointed at Natsu, ready to unleash more magic if necessary.

"Perhaps I am Igneel." Natsu muttered stubbornly. Zeref laughed mirthlessly and said "No you're not, I met him once." Natsu glared at Zeref before saying "Fine, I'm not Igneel, but he did request me to get you." Zeref laughed and said "Like I'm supposed to believe that?! Igneel hasn't shown his face in years, not since he started helping Fiore. Maybe he decided to fully join their cause and he sent you to take me out or have me brought to my enemy as a captive."

Natsu growled and said "Igneel would never do that!" He focused on shifting to his normal form to appear less intimidating to maybe win Zeref's cooperation that way. Zeref's eyes narrowed at Natsu and he said "Do you think that if you take on your weaker form that I will go with you more willingly? You have only made it easier for me to defeat you and be done with this nonsense." Zeref sent a wave of magic at Natsu, who dodged as he said "We really do mean you no harm, we can do this the hard way if you prefer and I won't lie, I really don't mind doing it that way, but Igneel would be happier with me if you let me do it the easy way."

Zeref glared and said "Make the one who will soon rule us all if he has his way happier with you? What so he will give you a better rank or something? No way." Natsu shrugged and sighed, before saying "Well they can't say I didn't try to bring you in peacefully. With that he launched his own attack at Zeref. Zeref didn't have time to react with magic, barely had time to raise his arms in a protective cross in front of him. He successfully blocked Natsu's first volley of attacks, but got knocked back with one particularly hard hit.

Natsu lit his arms and hands on fire, running at Zeref who shot a burst of his own magic at Natsu. Natsu veered out of the path of Zeref's attack at the expense of his own attack. The two found themselves rather evenly matched, for a moment one might get the upper hand seemingly, but in the next the other took it back and sometimes claimed it as their own. Several minutes of this passed, before they both took a step back, panting in exhaustion but neither ready to admit defeat.

Natsu knew he would have to get Zeref mad so that he would make a mistake and with a deep breath, he went straight for the core cause of this war. "You're probably glad that your brother is gone, huh? Don't have to worry about him uprising against you and taking your throne." Zeref was so shocked by Natsu's words that he didn't see them for what they were, bait for a trap and one that he fully took. Blind rage took over and he made wild swings with both his power and his fists, ones that Natsu easily dodged adding to his ire.

Finally Natsu saw the opening he had been looking for and went for it. Zeref had overextended his arm, causing him to lose his balance somewhat and when he went to catch himself, he put his neck right below the perfectly aimed elbow of Natsu, who knocked him out with a single blow to the head. Once he was sure Zeref was really out, Natsu himself collapsed to the ground for a moment to regain some of his energy before taking what might turn into a long flight back to the cave if Zeref had anything to say about it.

XXX

Toma had been in the cave with Igneel and the girl named Lucy for three days and neither would tell him why he was there, saying they had to wait for another guest to arrive before they got on with things. Toma had come along a little more willingly then Zeref, though he was displeased at not getting the chance to tell anyone what to do in case of an attack by Zeref while he was gone. His people had seen Igneel carrying him off and he had heard their cries of surprise and despair.

Suddenly the king of Fiore was torn from his thoughts as the flapping of wings could be heard and since Igneel was right beside him he knew it had to be another dragon. Could this be the guest they were waiting for? He soon learned it wasn't, when a smaller version of Igneel carried in none other than King Zeref!

"Natsu, why is Zeref unconscious?" Lucy asked. After gently putting the king down on the bed meant for him, Natsu turned back to her as his human form took shape while he rubbed his neck and he said "Well he wouldn't come with me and decided to put up a fight. I finally got him to stop by knocking him out." "Natsu!" Igneel growled. "I'm sorry dad, honest! I really did try to make him come along without doing so, I even shifted to be less threatening!" Natsu said, cowering a little at the annoyance in his father's voice.

Igneel sighed and said "It's alright, perhaps I should have gone myself… hmm wait." Igneel had drawn near to Zeref while he was talking to see what the damage was and as he did so he felt a powerful, evil energy surrounding the king. He could tell it wasn't the natural power of the king, this was something else. He had totally forgotten about the others in the cave with him until Lucy asked "What is it Igneel?" Turning towards her, Natsu and Toma, who had all gathered behind him after his strange comment, he said "There is a powerful magic surrounding Zeref… I had heard tales before I was kidnapped by Tartaros about how strange he started acting right after his parents' deaths."

"He had always been a quiet boy, but soon he almost became vicious to all those around him. No one dared cross him, they all feared him and not in a good way." Igneel continued, "I wonder if this is the cause of that." "Is there any way to help him?" asked Toma, worry for the younger king evident in his voice. "Yes, but I'll need Lucy's help." Igneel stated. Lucy stepped forward and asked "How can I help?" "My magic can remove the magic that is surrounding him and doing who knows what to him, but it is protected by a magic that could be removed more easily by a Celestial Wizard. Are you up for it?" he questioned.

Lucy nodded and said "Of course, just tell me what to do." Igneel smiled his silent praise for her being willing to help out the one who basically caused her to leave her home, then he said "You will need to call on the energy of all your spirits and once you have done so, hold your hands over him, this will create an opening for me to start my work in as well as to help you tear it down from the inside. It won't be easy, but it will be the quickest way and hopefully we'll have completed it before he wakes up."

Lucy took her keys in hand and closed her eyes as she held them tightly, focusing on requesting their help in the form of energy rather than a physical form. Her Spirit friends of course, eagerly sent as much of their magic as they could her way, all were always ready to help Lucy as she treated them as equals rather than servants. Igneel could feel the power around the magic starting to ebb the moment Lucy put her hands over Zeref. She kept her eyes closed as she felt Igneel's magic moving around hers and into the hole it had created.

Natsu and Toma watched in wide-eyed silence as the magic that Igneel had sensed became visible to their eyes as it fought back against Lucy and Igneel's magic. Lucy was starting to feel drained, sweat beginning to form and pour off her as she struggled against it, trying to buy Igneel the time he needed to defeat the magic within. The dragon king found the magic putting up quite the fight, but he knew it would be no match for his own, a fact that was soon proven when it suddenly was just gone, the link from whoever cast it and Zeref severed.

With it, it took the barrier that Lucy had been fighting and she found herself falling, both from exhaustion and from having felt the need to physically lean into the struggle with the magic and, finding it gone, could not quite catch herself. Thankfully Natsu noticed and caught her before she hit the ground. He smiled at her as he helped her to a nearby chair to sit, telling her "Good job Luce!" Lucy gave him a tired smile before asking "Did we do it Igneel?"

Igneel joined her at the table, feeling a bit drained himself, before smiling and replying "We did it. Good job Lucy." Lucy nodded before resting her head on the table, needing a moment to catch her breath. Natsu was concerned for Lucy, but his father didn't look too worried, so he hoped that was a good sign. Soon enough, Lucy had recovered enough strength to sit normally and she joined the quiet conversation Toma, Igneel and Natsu were having so as not to disturb Zeref.

Toma had tried to question Igneel about why he and Zeref were both there, but Igneel told him to wait until Zeref was awake and then he would explain. So they all just talked about random nonsense until they heard sounds of stirring from Zeref's location. They turned to see Zeref half sitting up and holding onto his head. He groaned as he asked "Where am I?" Igneel stood and went over to him before replying "You are in my cave, King Zeref. Tell me, what do you remember?"

Zeref's eyes narrowed as they landed on Natsu and he answered "Oh I remember everything." His expression softened though before he continued "But it was all through a haze, that wasn't me, not in the sense of me being in control of myself anyways. I've been trapped in the haze since shortly after my parents' death." On a hunch, Lucy asked "Tell me, was there someone named Selena or Seilah who worked for you around that time? Or Keyes perhaps?"

"Not working for us no, but I do remember that it was a man named Keyes who reported their death. I remembered thinking how ironic that he was named that, for I felt that my future had been unlocked for me before I was ready." Zeref replied, "Why do you ask?" Natsu folded his arms and said "A girl named Seilah, who was going under the name Selena, was trying to poison the king of Edolas when we were passing through. She reported to a guy named Keyes."

Toma and Zeref looked at them in concern as Toma asked "Is Mystogan alright?" Lucy nodded and said "Yes, though he faked his death with the help of a friend of ours in order to get her to leave so he could come and help put an end to the war." Toma turned to Zeref and asked "Speaking of the war, do you really believe I was behind the disappearance of your brother and death of your parents?"

Zeref sighed and said "Back then, even without whatever controlled me did so, I would have said yes, I mean I grew up hearing that you were behind my brother's disappearance, why should my parents deaths me any different? Now, with everything that we know, I beginning to doubt that." Toma smiled and said "I'm glad to hear it. I only wish your parents were alive, to know everything that we now know." Zeref nodded his agreement, "So what now?" Lucy asked.

"Now, I think we, as in Zeref, Toma and I, need to head to Edolas and have a conference with Mystogan and Shagotte. You two can head on to Fairy Tail and Grandeeny and ask them to meet us there with whoever they can get. Zeref and Toma can send messages to their troops too." Igneel replied, "We're going to go after Tartaros before they can come for us individually."

XXX

Soon after his declaration of war against Tartaros, Igneel flew off with Toma and Zeref on his back. Lucy and Natsu decided to go to Grandeey and the other dragons first, since they were the closest, at least now that Natsu could fly they were. "Want to try riding on my back this time?" asked Natsu, as he shifted into his dragon form. Lucy nodded, smiling as she said "Sure!" Inwardly she wasn't too thrilled with the idea, she felt safest when in Natsu's arms, but she felt bad always making him carry her, so she agreed even though she really felt uneasy about doing so.

Natsu waited until Lucy got into position and he was sure she was secure, before gently taking off. He felt her grip tighten and could tell she was nervous, so he asked "Want me to go down and carry you instead?" Lucy took a deep, steadying breath, before saying "No, I trust you. It's just a little nerve wracking the first time." Natsu chuckled and said "I remember that feeling. Don't worry, even if you did fall, I would catch you."

Lucy laughed uneasily before replying somewhat confidentially, "I know you would." Natsu grinned before concentrating on where he was flying and how fast. He would start to speed up whenever Lucy relaxed a little and if she tightened to a certain extent, he would slow down until she was comfortable again. They soon came in sight of the dragon home and he hoped that all or at least one of them would be back from their search for Igneel. Soon his pondering came to an end as he could smell not only them, but his fellow dragon kids as well.

As he landed, he took in Sting and Rogue's gaping mouths at his form and he snickered as he turned back into a human, though he had forgotten Lucy was still on his back. He remember when her arms wrapped around his neck to keep from falling on her butt on the ground. Natsu grinned, letting her stay there as he walked over and said to Sting and Rogue "Told you it was possible!" Lucy lowered herself to the ground as he talked, which turned out to be a good thing as Sting made some sort of comment she didn't catch that had Natsu lunging at him and a fight broke out amongst the two of them.

Lucy simply rolled her eyes and asked Wendy "How far did you get in catching them up?" "We just got to the part where we split up. I don't think Sting or Rogue believed us when we said Natsu had finally achieved dragon form." Rogue blushed and replied "I wouldn't say didn't believe, but it's one thing to hear about it and another to witness." Grandeeney smiled at Lucy and asked "What did you, Igneel and Natsu do after separating from the others? And where is Igneel, did he not want to see us?" The last pat was said in a teasing tone so that Lucy would know the dragon was not serious.

So it was Lucy's turn to bring the dragons and the dragon kids, minus Sting, up to speed on what was happening. When she finished speaking, Grandeeney went over to still quarreling dragon kids and knocked their heads together, effectively ending the argument. As Natsu rubbed his head where it had made contact with Sting's, Grandeeney said "Natsu, teach the other dragon kids how to shift, then we will all go on to Fairy Tail and take as many as we can on to Edolas."

Natsu knew better then to argue with Grandeeney, besides this was another way of rubbing in his having been the first to reach Dragon Form. It took the better part of the day, but soon the other dragon kids were shifting just like Natsu, who was practically able to do it in an instant at this point. Grandeeney nodded her approval as she said "We'll leave first thing in the morning."

XXX

Mid-day found the dragons, dragon kids and Lucy landing just outside of Magnolia. After all were in their human forms, they made their way to the Fairy Tail Guild, which was full of those who had returned after Warren had called them back from the search for Igneel. Lucy made her way through the masses with an ease born of time spent within these walls, the dragons and dragon kids following at a slower pace. "Master, I bring news from Igneel." Lucy stated. This caught everyone's attention and the rowdy place almost became immediately still and quiet.

"What is it Lucy? asked a voice from beside Makarov. Lucy turned to the girl with surprise and happiness in her voice "Oh Mavis, you've returned from Symphonia already!? Anyways, that is perfect, Igneel has declared war on Tartaros and we'll need our best tactician with us." "Who is Igneel to declare war on Tartaros? I thought he was just Natsu's dad." Cana asked from her place by the bar. Lucy looked to Grandeeney who spoke up for the blonde "Igneel is the King of the Dragons. He has managed to get Zeref and Toma to stop fighting each other, they will be joining us in Edolas where we will stage our attack from."

There were mouths hanging open all over the place as Natsu grinned and snickered, along with most of the dragon kids. "Some of us will be getting a lift to there. I think you and Mavis need to be at least two of them, Master." Lucy said. "You need to be with us too Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed, and Wendy added "Yeah and Erza, Jellal, Juvia, Gray, Levy and Romeo!" "Levy and Romeo left not too long after they got here to go pass on the word to the Exceeds about your location." Mira spoke up, "They are probably still there if they ran into Igneel."

Sting muttered to Rogue "We should pick up Yukino and her team too." The Master stamped his foot loudly, a surprising feat for one of his stature to those who didn't know him, before saying "Listen up you brats! Mavis, myself, Lucy, Erza, Jellal, Juvia and Gray will be going. If I call your name, you'll be riding to Edolas on a dragon. If I don't, then make your way there as fast as you can." While Makarov sorted everyone out, Natsu noticed Sting and Rogue slipping out the door.

He followed them and stopped them in their tracks, as they were mid-shift, and asked "Where are you two going?" Sting turned to him and said "What's it matter to you." Rogue stepped between the two and rolled his eyes at Sting and turned to Natsu as he said "When Sting and I were looking for Igneel we ran into another group of mages. We figured it couldn't hurt to go and get them. We'll meet you there as soon as we can." Natsu heard Sting mutter something that sounded like "Why don't you just kiss the prince's feet already." but he chose to ignore it and said "Okay, I will tell Grandeeney where you guys went." Rogue nodded and pulled Sting along after him, both finishing their shift and lifting into the air. Natsu watched until they were nearly out of sight before going back in.

XXX

The first wave of Fairy Tail members, the dragons and dragon kids, minus Sting and Rogue, arrived in Edolas close to midnight. Mystogan, Igneel, Zeref, Toma and Shagotte were all still up and so they came to the landing place to greet them. Mavis nudge Lucy in the side and asked "Who is that good looking guy?" Lucy followed Mavis lines of sight to see an equally enthralled Zeref looking at Mavis. She whispered in Mavis ear "That's King Zeref and he looks interested in you." Mavis blushed at Lucy's comment but boldly made her way over to Zeref.

Lucy didn't hear what took place in their conversation, as she was distracted by not only Igneel and Mystogan's greetings, but Levy, Romeo, Happy, Carla and Lily's as well, who had all stuck around when Igneel arrived just in time to tell them to do so. Shagotte was the first one to speak to the group as a whole. "You all must be exhausted. Come, you can either stay with us Exceeds or with Mystogan tonight and we can bring you up to date on our plans in the morning." The group of mages, dragons and dragon kids split up, some heading to the Exceed village and some to Mystogan's castle to take her up on her offer.

XXX

The next day, a council of war was held. Everyone attended and listened as their leaders made out the plan. They would wait until more of Fairy Tail arrived, maybe Sting and Rogue and whoever they were bringing, before making the first move. They wouldn't attack any civilians unless they did so first, and only so far as to disarm them. The exceeds would carry those like Gray and Natsu, who could use their powers from a distance, over the castle walls when they drew near there, while those who were more ground soldiers like Cana or those who were left over after all the Exceeds capable of helping were taken would meet them at the gates.

Mard Greer and Kyôka were to be taken alive, if at all possible, to answer for their crimes against the Alvarez Empire, Fiore and Edolas. They also had to answer the question if they were behind the death of the king and queen of the Alvarez Empire or if it really was an accident and if they had taken the young prince too. The group of friends did their best to try to relax, but the thought of the upcoming battle held a tension that they just couldn't shake.

XXX

Finally all was in order. Everyone had arrived and the plan was ready to be set in motion. Igneel, in his dragon form, stood in front of the crowd made up of mages, dragons, humans and Exceeds as he said "It is time we brought this war to an end, once and for all. For nearly two decades it has gone on and the ones behind it, Tartaros, have a lot to answer for. Let's go show them why they shouldn't mess with the minds and lives of those who can fight back." A cheer went up through the crowd, all were ready to follow Igneel to war.

XXX

The march on the castle of Tartaros didn't take long. Even Tartaros own people were tired of them and their ways, few made any attempts to stop them and those that did were halfhearted at best. They soon found themselves at the castle walls, and the Exceeds grabbed the ones they had been assigned to and flew them over the walls. Wendy and Carla opened the gates for those outside and the fighting finally began in earnest.

Mard Greer and Kyôka, cowards that they were, locked themselves in the throne room and left their men to do all the fighting alone. The soldiers of Tartaros put up a good fight, but just as things were starting to swing in Igneel's forces favor, a roar sounded from the opposite direction they had arrived in. Everyone watched as a black dragon, as big as Igneel, flew towards them. Grandeeney's eyes widened as she shouted out "It's Acnologia!" The other dragons and dragon kids froze where they were, most with snarls on their faces as he approached.

Both sides stopped their fighting, some in terror and others in awe, while others were curious as to what was about to happen. Those who did, didn't have long to wait. Acnologia growled "Igneel, long have I waited for this day. Fight me!" he finished with a flap of his wings, probably to show off how strong they were, though the sentiment was lost on those either not dragon or raised by them. Igneel nodded his head and said "Very well." With that, he shifted from his human form to his dragon one.

Then the red dragon lunged at the black one who met him head on. "Dad!" Natsu cried out and Lucy, who stood to his right, could sense the fear in her old friend's voice. "Natsu, what's wrong? Won't the others help him if he needs it?" Natsu shook his head and said "No, Acnologia isn't fighting him because he is on Tartaros side, I can't even say for sure if he is or isn't. He wants to be King of the Dragons. In order to do so, he has to not only beat Igneel, he has to kill him."

Lucy gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as the gravity of the situation sunk in. Then she grabbed Natsu hand and held on tight as they both watched the fight above. Everyone did so, some worried for they knew what this fight would mean if Igneel lost, others were worried they could become collateral damage of the two dragons fighting. Happy hugged Natsu from the back, fear causing the blue Exceed to shake as they watched the two behemoths fight.

Every time Acnologia landed a blow, Natsu would flinch and squeeze Lucy's hand a little harder, his eyes desperately watching Igneel and begging him not to lose. He lost his father once, he didn't want to lose him again, especially when they still hadn't had time to fully catch up. When Igneel would get the upper hand, Natsu would give a sigh of relief and relax his hold a little. Lucy's reactions were about the same as his, while Happy buried his face in Natsu's back, too afraid to watch any longer.

It seemed like neither would ever get the upper hand, but finally Igneel's claws ripped into Acnologia's wings, causing the black dragon to retract them in pain, sending them both plummeting towards the ground. Everyone scattered barely making it out of the way before the two landed hard in the courtyard. Igneel stood over Acnologia, a claw on his chest as he let out a mighty roar. Then quicker than you could blink, he had his teeth around Acnologia's throat. "Yield." He muttered to the black dragon, letting the tips of his teeth rake across his black scales.

Acnologia wouldn't yield, would not look him in the eye. So Igneel tightened his grasp around the black dragon's throat and growled at him again to yield. Acnologia knew this was the last chance the winner had to offer the loser to concede, so he growled, "I yield." Igneel backed off him and said "You are banished from these lands, you must go to the island and live there until you die, as do all who are banished. If you are ever spotted by a dragon anywhere else, they must kill you on sight or risk being banished too."

Acnologia growled his understanding, bowed to his king one last time, then took to the air, heading to the island Igneel spoke of. Natsu shifted forms and flew to Igneel, tackling him in a hug, Happy still attached to his back. Lucy wished she could have enjoyed the moment a little longer, but the soldiers of Tartaros thought that they could make a move, with everyone distracted by the scene in front of them, so she was pulled back into the fight. Later, Grandeeney would tell her how Acnologia had never been content following Igneel, that he had always wanted to be king, she just never thought he would show up at a time like that to fight Igneel for the title.

Mard Greer was alerted to the fact that the tide of favor was turning against them by a soldier on the other side of the throne room doors. "I think it's time we get these invaders to leave, don't you my dear?" he asked Kyôka, who smiled at him and said "Oh I agree full heartedly." Mard Greer returned her smile then stood and offered her his hand. She took it and they both left the throne room, headed to an unknown location.

Meanwhile, Igneel's forces were starting to feel pretty good and also felt they finally were going to put this war to an end, when a voice rang out across the battlefield, "Hear me! You will stop this and leave at once." Those who had worked there recognized the voice as that of the king and Natsu quietly informed his father who it was. Igneel then spoke up and said "What makes you think we would do that when your forces are the ones that are almost done in?" "We have the king and queen of the Alvarez Empire, just as we had you for years." replied Mard Greer.

Zeref's eyes widened, before they dilated to slits, yelling out "How is that possible? They died in a fire!" "But you never recovered any bodies did you? Acnologia at least was somewhat useful in that he got the fire burning hot for us. He left to go find Igneel, but we never told him when we caught him ourselves, I needed something to ensure he wouldn't turn against me." Mard Greer answered. "We want proof that what you are saying is true." Toma shouted back.

They heard a snap and some shuffling, before suddenly a female voice was heard saying "Hello?" Zeref's eyes filled with tears as he said "Mother! Are you okay? Is father with you?!" "Zeref?" came a male voice, "Don't listen to them, it's oka…" the rest of what the king was about to say cut off, they could hear Mard Greer make an angry sound before he said "You better do what I say, or their lives are forfeit. After all, this is war."

Zeref lowered his gaze, only raising it slightly when he felt Toma's hand on his arm. "We will leave this choice up to you Zeref, we'll fight if you tell us to or back off if you want." Zeref nodded, grateful but also troubled for he knew what he felt like he should do, and he didn't like it. "Let's keep going. The Alvarez Empire isn't the only one they wronged, they need to pay." he softly replied. They didn't know it, but Mard Greer was panicking, this wasn't the reaction he expected.

Suddenly he felt something cold at his neck. He turned his head just barely to see a red haired lady holding a sword to both his own neck and Kyôka's. "You will admit your defeat for everyone to hear." She said, the king and queen of the Alvarez Empire standing safely behind her blue haired, male companion. Natsu smiled as he recognized her voice. "Erza did it! She found where they were hiding!" he exclaimed. Mard Greer sighed and said "I admitted defeat."

XXX

Later, when all of Tartaros soldiers had been round up and either sent home or put in the dungeons, the defeated king and queen of Tartaros were brought before their fellow royals, Grandeeney and those who had freed Igneel. Zeref stood happily with his parents, as Igneel spoke up "You have much to answer for. We know you started this war, what did you do with Elizabeth and Richard's younger son?" Kyôka spoke up and said "We had him kidnapped. He was supposed to be brought to us, but the one Mard Greer sent was worried he was being followed, so he ditched the baby in the woods."

Igneel looked over to Natsu, then at Elizabeth and Richard and the resemblance between the two and him was uncanny. "Did he say where he abandoned the baby?" Igneel pressed further. "He said it was after he was already in Fiore, that it was near a cave or something." Mard Greer muttered, annoyed with Kyôka for telling so much. Other questions were put forth to them about other things, but finally they were sent to their cell to await the decision of what was to be done with them.

The dragon king sighed, before breaking into the conversations going on by saying "I could be wrong, though I don't think I am. But I may know where your son is." Elizabeth's face lit up as she asked "Oh really!? Where?" Igneel pointed at Natsu, surprising all those around him, though they quickly saw what Igneel was seeing and had to admit that it was quite possible. "I found Natsu as a baby in the woods near my cave. He looks a lot like the both of you, much like Zeref does. I can't say for certain that he is, but I don't think I am wrong in thinking he is."

Elizabeth, Richard and Zeref made their way towards Natsu. His friends all parted and moved off to give them some space, but Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand and held on for dear life. She squeezed his reassuringly and made no more moves to head off. Richard motioned towards Natsu's neck and asked "May I move your scarf?" Natsu nodded, but said nothing as Richard pulled down the scarf a little. There they saw a scar and Elizabeth cried out "You are our son!"

She pulled him, and Lucy since Natsu still hadn't let go of her hand, into a hug as she explained the scar was caused by the midwife. After she let go of them, Richard followed suit. When it was Zeref's turn to greet his brother, he simply smirked and said "You know, your real name is Shiki." Natsu frowned as he replied "I mean the name is not horrible or anything, but I don't think it's me." His family laughed and then pulled Igneel into the conversation. Besides the royal family, Igneel, Happy and Lucy stayed while the others filed out to give the family some time to get to know one another. Zeref watched Mavis leave with disappointment.

XXX

It had been several weeks since King Richard and Queen Elizabeth had been freed. Zeref had stepped down from ruling for the time being, happy to hand the reins of the kingdom back over to his parents for a few more years. Lucy would never forget the day he came into the guild, walked up to Mavis and said "Nice weather we are having this August." The two had both blushed and had an awkward moment, still were doing both of those in fact, but watching their relationship bud was fun to watch.

Mystogan had suggested, and everyone had agreed, that Queen Shagotte and the Exceeds should have Tartaros to rule. The Exceeds now had a kingdom of their own, one which they renamed Extalia after their old royal city. Happy, Carla, Lily, Frosch, and Lector all had and were helping with the move, Carla learning more about ruling from her mother since she would one day take over.

Mard Greer and Kyôka's fate, along with the few soldiers and servants truly loyal to them, had been one of banishment. Igneel had taken them to the same island as Acnologia, with a promise of a supply ship every month or so to keep them alive.

Natsu had spent some time with his parents, but told them he was happier being the prince of dragons then he was a prince of the Alvarez Empire. He loved them, but his love for Igneel was and always would be stronger. Besides, Lucy lived closer to Igneel then they did. With the war over, many families had returned to Crocus, but while her parents and Brandish's mom had been among those who did, Lucy and her friends had all chosen to remain in Magnolia, it was home to them more then Crocus was.

Night was falling and at Fairy Tail the party was just getting started. Drinks flowed freely, laughter filled the air along with music and the sounds of dancing feet. It was the first night all of them had been back since the end of the war, some having stayed to help the Exceeds in the new Extalia, some having gone on jobs and others still took a much needed break. No casualties had befallen Fairy Tail and so, with everyone together once more, a party was in order.

Natsu, Zeref, Gajeel and Wendy had all opted to join Fairy Tail upon being invited by the Master at the end of the war. Sting and Rogue had gone to join a guild called Sabertooth, but they visited often with their own new set of friends. Natsu grinned as he watched Lucy dancing with Levy and Wendy. His feelings for her had definitely grown beyond those of a friend and he knew she felt the same, or at least he hoped she did. Tonight, he determined he would find out for sure.

"Hey Luce, come here a second, I have a question." Natsu said from where he was standing by a window. Lucy smiled and excused herself before making her way over to him. "What is it Natsu? Is it about the stars?" she asked. Natsu shook his head and said "No, I was just wondering if maybe, someday, you can see yourself being the princess of dragons?" Lucy looked surprised, before smiling and asking "Is that your way of asking me out on a date?" Natsu gave his signature grin as he replied "Maybe." Lucy leaned forward and whispered, "I think I'd like that." And with that, she kissed Natsu.

**And that, my friends, is the end :D With around 7k words, I hope you forgive any errors left in this chapter, I did my best with a read through, but I'm sure I missed something XD So fun fact, there are a two things hidden in this chapter from Hiro Mashima's other "big" mangas, hint one is a country and one is person's name, did you spot them? Also I just had to do the August line with Zeref and Mavis XD**

**Richard and Elizabeth were the names I picked for Natsu and Zeref's parents, not because they are royal names, but because one set of my grandparents names are them… though they usually go by Rick and Betty, but oh well XD Forgive me if none of this makes sense, I'm writing this at around 2 in the morning and I am beat XD**

**Answers to Reviews!**

**Trollka21: I'm so glad you love the story, I hope the ending made you just as happy :D **

**FireShifter: I hope all of your questions got answered in this chapter! It makes me so happy to hear when something I write makes someone's day (heart), I hope you like this Christmas gift of a chapter :D**

**FTAnt: Reunion moments are my favorite XD lol it felt like something that Igneel would have done in that moment XD Pyxis is such a great/adorable character and I felt he would really fit well :D**


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